Roller Coaster
by The-Amazing-Gracie
Summary: Life's a roller coaster. But when you're a halfa, that's even more true. Now, there are more twists and loops than our team would like. Secrets are being revealed. The Fenton's are kicking Danny out. The Manson's are taking Danny in. And Danielle's an AP student that's in 9th grade at 10 years old. Read on to see what happens? DxS
1. Chapter 1

**Okay Phans. I have another story for you. Its not going to have uniform updates, because it's not priority. Revolution is. I've been working on this for several weeks and it lives up to it's T rating. It's dark. And morbid. And it has Scientist!Maddie and Scientist!Jack. DannyXSam is one of the SHIPS! As is TuckerXJazz! There's the whole Danny/Sam/Danielle family thing I have in every story. It's called Roller Coaster not because it has something to do with a Roller Coaster but because life's a Roller Coaster and the only plan is life. Just Life. Have fun. **

Danny's POV

I went intangible so I wouldn't slam into a chalkboard, zipping back into the battleground of the day, the band room. I was almost positive somebody was playing some kind of trick on me. I had never met any ghost with an obsession with instruments, yet the room was full of undead tubas and drums. Some days, I hated my life.

"How's it going guys?" I called out to my best friends as I turned a violin to ashes. A beautiful young woman with violet eyes growled below me.

"I'm okay but I would be a hell of a lot better if these things were gone."

The girl with the attitude and combat boots is my girlfriend, Sam. One word to describe her would be adventurous. She's gotten me into trouble more times than I could count with some of her ideas yet I still managed to fall in love with her. That's life I guess.

A tall, nerdy young man was using a baseball bat to keep the instruments at bay. Sweat dripped down his cocoa colored face and his glasses were starting to slide off of his nose. His name, is Tucker and we have been best friends since we were like, three. When he met Sam through a family friend and introduced her to me when we were five, the three of us became inseparable.

"I'm cool Danny, Do you think we could wrap this one up though? I think there's enough that it's worth a wail." I nodded.

"Cover your ears Guys." The two humans dropped their weapons and covered their ears with their hands. I took a deep breath, pausing for a moment before letting out a supersonic scream that sounded like someone was being haunted from beyond the grave. Not only was the wail loud enough to destroy human eardrums, but both Sam and Tucker were convinced that it could drive a person insane. I only thought it was loud.

I sank to the floor as the wail died in my throat. My body reverted to its human form as I panted. My messy snow white hair I had as a ghost faded to black. My black and white suit as replaced by a pair of jeans, a long sleeve red shirt with a white trim and star design, and a pair of black sneakers. My eyes stopped glowing and turned baby blue, a great contrast to the acid green that was iconic for my ghostly alter-ego. I fell to my knees as I gasped. Sam and Tucker were over at my side in thirty seconds tops, ready to help me to my feet. I had an arm around each of their shoulders but I was unnaturally light so they weren't strained. The rest of the team flew through the wall into the room. They were two of the brightest women I had ever met.

The elder of the two was a red head with aqua eyes, just about twenty years old. It was my sister Jasmine. Jazz had gotten our mom's genius gene, acing college over the summer after her senior year. As soon as she graduated she applied at Casper to be the new school counselor. They hired her.

There were upsides to my sister being part of the staff at my high school. She could say that she pulled us when ghosts pulled the original members off campus and watch her niece when those kinds of things happened.

Yes, you did read that right, I have a daughter. Made from stolen DNA without our permeation, Sam and I found out that Dani was our baby girl after six months of dating. Instead of tearing each other apart over the fact that we were parents at sixteen we grinned and snuck the little ghost girl into Sam's place.

Technically, we did have adult consent to keep her at Sam's place. Grandma Ida figured out my little ghost secret about a year and a half after I got my powers. We went to her and she accepted Danielle with open arms.

In reality, Danielle was only three years old. When Vlad made her, he sped her growth up enough so that she looked about eleven. Unfortunately, the little hybrid hadn't grown since then. That forced us to use the excuse that Dani was ten and in advance placement so she could be a freshman. Danielle usually acted the age she looked but when she was at Sam's place or alone with the team, she acted about five years old. It made me laugh whenever she sat on my shoulders like it was her spot be default.

Unfortunately, People would have connected the smaller halfa and I to our alter egos if she continued to call herself Dani Phantom. Me having the same name as Phantom could count as a coincidence if it was just Danny. If it was Danny and Dani Phantom, it would be sent back to Dani and Danny Fenton in minutes. Dani helped Sam with her own redesign. She wore a short sleeve blood red jumpsuit with black gloves, black boots, and a black tutu. She still demanded that we keep my logo on one of her shoulder, almost like a last name. Her ghost form was now Phantom Rose because of the middle name she had chosen for her human form. Her name was Danielle Rose Fenton. That way we could call her Rosie in either form without attracting too much attention. She was very fond of her nickname so nobody called her Dani anymore. She had been with us for almost a year now and even though her name was legally Danielle Rose Fenton, she went by Danielle Rose at school so nobody made the connection.

Rosie sat Jazz down and ran to the three of us, going human as she ran. I was tackled in a bone crushing hug from the girl. I stumbled and the child released. Concern washed over her face in a wave. "You screamed." She cried. "Are you okay Daddy?"

I gathered enough of my strength to pick her up and hold her like she was a small child, cradling her in my arms. I was already feeling better. I wasn't the ghost child I had been in when I was fourteen. I was Danny Phantom. I only needed a few minutes for recovery. "I'm fine Rosie. We were just tired of fighting."

The girl looked down over at Sam and Tucker. "Mama? Uncle T? What about you?"

Sam reached up and set a hand on Rosie's back as Tuck reassured her. "We're fine Tiny. There was just a bunch of them. Don't underestimate our awesomeness. Did you figure out who animated the instruments?"

Rosie pouted, floating down from my grasp so she could fold her arms in front of herself. Jazz set a hand on her small niece's shoulder. "Whoever it is wanted you to know that it was them. We can't tell though. They left this." Jazzy pulled an antique bottle out of the messenger bag she slung around her shoulders. The moment it was free from the fabric, I snarled and fought the urge to shape shift.

I had gotten the ability my last death day, August 13. I had turned into a fluffy black kitten while I was sitting with my girls. We had been watching some kind of Disney movie. Falling down into a pile of blankets wasn't as fun when you were a kitty. Thankfully, I could still use my telepathy to talk with Sam. She took me to Clockwork and I hissed at him until he told me what was going on.

Long story short, ghosts with shape shifting abilities were able to change into a signal animal. Typically you were able to shift to the same animal as one of your ghost parents. As I was the first in the House of Phantom, my core picked a group of animals I was familiar with. Cats. My behavior had warped just a bit more with the new power, I was a bit more catlike as I got a few instincts that weren't human. I had started hating dogs overnight, I really like fish, and if Sam played with my hair or scratched me between my shoulder blades I purred. She had started scratching my back and ears when we were alone for the sole reason that she liked it when I purred.

My sense of smell, hearing, and sight had gotten much better when I turned into the halfa-cat I was now. The bottle reeked with the ghost's ectoplasm, the scent of amber, dates, and other Mediterranean scents were sickeningly strong. I almost gagged before Jazz put it away. "It's Desiree." I declared. "We'll have to catch her after school. Be careful with the wishes." We were cut off from saying any more when the door flew open.

Two extremely familiar and unwelcome faces ran through the door. A large young man with close cut blonde hair came through first, a small, thin, young woman with perfect makeup behind him. Twin expressions of annoyance flew to their faces.

I sighed. "What's wrong you two? You aren't supposed to be outside of the gym."

Dash shot me a look of irritation before rolling his eyes. "Neither are you Fenton. We were trying to find Phantom, he's always around after a fight. What were you doing?"

I opened my mouth. "Uh-" A slamming door cut me off and the seven of us all whipped around towards the door.

"Yes. What were you doing?" Mr. Lancer hissed.

Unfortunately, it was already four o'clock by the time lockdown was over. That meant that Lancer tossed us students in the waiting chairs in the office as he waited for parents to come for an emergency meeting. He was having a conversation with Jazz as we sat and he didn't seem pleased with her. Rosie slid her chair over closer to me and away from the door. "What's going to happen?" She whispered, tears in her eyes. This was the first time she had been caught up in the aftermath of a ghost fight, the aftermath where we got in trouble for doing our jobs.

"Well." I whispered as I rubbed her cheek with one thumb. "Mr. Lancer's going to call everyone's parents and Nana. They're going to talk and the worst that they can do is take us out of school for a few days or put us in detention. You're going to be fine."

Rosie paled. "Y-your parents are coming?" She whimpered. I could understand why she was scared and I knew that I could forgive my parents. A little over seven months ago, the hunters had snagged us. They vivisected me. AND Rosie had to watch. I told her words of comfort. Let her know that we would be alright. They weren't my parents any more. They were Jack and Maddie. The two hunters hadn't noticed that they weren't Mom and Dad anymore, still too busy going over the data from my body.

They hadn't been able to cut open Rosie like they did me and for that I was grateful. Sam, Tuck and Jazz found us before then and tricked my folks into walking away so they could set us free. I never slept in my room anymore. I was terrified that my parents were going to find out the secret and cut me open again, and then sentence my daughter to the same fate. I usually camped out with Jazz in her room or slept over at Sam's. It wasn't much better for protection but it kept some of the nightmares away.

I cupped Rosie's cheek in my hand. "Nobody is going to hurt you." I promised. "I'd give up my afterlife before I let that happen." Rosie shivered as she climbed onto my lap. Paulina started to laugh at the small girl before Sam and I sent her simultaneous death glares. The popular girl stuck her tongue out at us before glancing at the tile. Surprisingly, I realized that she wasn't being hostile, she just though that Rosie was a cutie.

The door to the office slammed open and three figures came through, two walking and one wheeling. "Samantha Amanda Mason!" Pamela screeched. "What in the world did you do this time?"

Sam leaned back in her chair with one of my arms wrapped around her waist. "The same thing that I've been doing for years." She said cryptically. Jeremy saw my arm around Sam and turned a violent red. It wasn't that the Manson's hated me exactly, they just didn't think that I was good enough for their daughter. On the surface they looked right, my grades weren't the best, I was always bruised up, and I looked like the picture of lazy from all of the times I fell asleep when I was trying to do my homework because I hadn't gotten sleep the night before, whether it be from ghost fights or nightmares.

"Hands off of her." He demanded. I turned to Sam and she rolled her eyes.

"Let go for now Danny, if I get cold again I'll tell you. Hi Grandma." Ida rolled forwards, holding out her arms for hugs from each of the four in our little group of friends. After the last hug she kept Rosie on her lap.

"Good afternoon children. I heard that you snuck out during a ghost attack again. That was naughty." Her words were reprimanding but the twinkle in her eyes told us that she was proud of us. Ida wheeled her chair around so she could see Paulina and Dash. "Are these some of your friends?"

All of the students in the room scoffed. "They were trying to get autographs from Danny Phantom. If they hadn't left the room I doubt that Lancer would have noticed that anyone was missing. They wouldn't have gotten the autographs anyways." Tucker explained. Paulina put her hands on her hips.

"And why would you all say that? It's not like there's anything wrong with us meeting him. I'm over my silly school girl crush. I just want to be friends. Same with Dash.:"

Sam was about to reply when the door opened and Rosie squeaked before launching herself at Sam, wrapping her arms around her mama. My parents ran through the office doors, hoods and goggles snapped tight to their faces. They were still wearing their jumpsuits, not bothering to change for the meeting. "Where's the ghost?" Jack barked. I rolled my eyes.

"Parent teacher conference, not ghosts Jack." The man drooped for a moment before seeing Paulina and Dash.

"Hey Look! It's my Ghostkateers!" He walked over to Dash and Paulina, ruffling each of their hair up in turn. "Did you two get in trouble for hunting ghosts during school hours? I should be able to clear that up with Lancer for you." Paulina opened her mouth to deny that she was trying to catch ghosts but Dash elbowed her.

"That would be nice Mr. Fenton." He said in the voice he only reserved for teachers and adults who were giving him what he wanted.

"You better not have bruised me." Paulina hissed but Dad didn't hear. He turned and eyed the rest of us, pointing at us as he ticked us off in his mind.

"Tucker, Sam, Danny, And who are you little Miss?" He asked, coming too close to Danielle. The halfa paled as she remembered that this man had rummaged through my chest cavity in a suit not unlike the one he was wearing now.

"This is Rosie." Sam answered for the terrified girl. "She was skipped to freshman year and it's her first time in the office for something other than a note so she's a bit nervous."

Jack cupped Rosie's chin and I tensed, ready to push him out of the way if I needed to protect Danielle. "Were you helping out my Ghostkateers Rosie?" He asked with a grin. Rosie stared at him with wide eyes as Lancer and Jazz walked into the room. It was just the conference in the office now, the secretary had just left for the night.

"Mr. Fenton, give Danielle her space please. The Baxter's, Foley's and Mr. Sanchez will be joining us by phone as they're out of town." Lancer set a cell phone down as he was speaking. "As you're all aware the ghost alarm was triggered today. We originally figured it was because there was actually a ghost in the building but after surveying the damage I've come to the conclusion that it must have just been a false alarm so that these four could do some damage to the band room. Ms. Fenton denies that's what the children were doing but she's also biased." All of the adults but Ida looked at the four of us with anger in their eyes. Maddie started yelling, reprimanding me for something that wasn't my fault.

"Daniel Matthew Fenton! There are days that I wish I could see what was in that head of yours! What in the name of all that is pure and ecto-free were you thinking?" My jaw fell down as a chill spilled into the room from the vents.

"Damn it!" I swore as a voice echoed through the room.

"So you have wished it, so shall it be!" I didn't have time to jump up as the world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam's POV

Danny swore and I knew something was wrong.

"So you have wished it, so shall it be." Desiree purred and the world went black before I could do anything. A split second later I could see again.

"Damn it!" I said as loudly as I could without screaming. I started pacing and Rosie sat cross legged on the floor watching me. So far we were the only ones awake.

"Mama." Rosie said softly. I stalled my pacing and sat down next to the hybrid. She climbed into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. "We're stuck in Daddy's head, aren't we?" I nodded as I brushed a stray lock of black hair away from Rosie's face.

"Yeah, we are. But that's okay. Do you know why?" Rosie shook her head and I pressed a kiss on her forehead. "It means, that nothing is going to hurt us. Think of it as a really long hug from Daddy." Rosie nodded and leaned against me. Maddie woke up next. Her eyes opened a crack and when she didn't recognize where she was the huntress leapt into the air, reaching for a weapon that wasn't there.

"Where am I?" She yelled and I winced. Danny was probably going to have a headache later.

"You made a wish." Danielle said frankly. "The wishing ghost came and granted it. Now we're stuck in Danny's head. He doesn't like guns so you don't have any." Maddie blinked at us with owl eyes before walking over and sitting down with us. Rosie flinched as Maddie plopped down beside us.

"Why do you keep on doing that?" Maddie asked. "You flinch whenever Jack or I get near you."

Rosie bit her lip and thought up an explanation the spot. "It's nothing. I just watched too many scary things. Sci Fi and stuff like that. It's not a big deal. I just don't like scientists." Maddie seemed to buy Danielle's excuse that was barely a sliver of the truth. Tucker and Jazz both jolted up at the same time. Tucker hissed when he saw that everyone was in the dark area. The two of them crawled over to the three of us.

"You wished in Amity Park Mom. Why?" Jazz groaned. Maddie shrugged and everyone else woke up at once. Chaos ensued and everyone was yelling something other than the team.

"Quiet!" Yelled a voice of power. Everyone that had been talking shut up. A young man dressed in crimson stood before us. His hair was dark grey and his eyes were turquoise, but, that didn't mean we couldn't tell who it was with the color change. Danielle and I both grinned as Tuck and Jazz shook their heads with smiles on their faces.

"Danny!" The grey haired man grinned at us, a familiar twinkle in his eyes.

"You have no idea how weird this is. I can feel you all moving in my head." Danny walked over and picked Rosie up, placing her on his shoulders. "I can guide you out. If we go to the center I should be able to eject you."

The entire group nodded. "Please!" Paulina begged. "I want back inside my own body!" Tucker rolled his eyes.

"Paulina. Shut up." He groaned. Jazz giggled and looked around.

"Am I still on the clock right now? Because I'd like to be a sister instead of a teacher right now." She sent Lancer a pointed look and he shook his head.

"Very well Miss Fenton. Mr. Fenton, lead the way so that I can finish this meeting and go home." The man nodded and gestured for me, Tucker, and Jazz to come forwards.

"You guys need to realize that we're not going to be able to keep all of our spooky little secrets." He murmured. "We can try to keep some of them secret but not everything can be kept from them. We have too many to keep them all." Rosie reached down and waved her hand in front of Danny's face.

"Can I still call you Daddy?" She whispered. Danny nodded, chuckling.

"Danielle, you can still call me Daddy, but quietly, just like at school." Rosie nodded and tightened her hold on Danny. He clapped his hands once and everyone jumped. "Kay, everyone listen up. This is my head and some things aren't going to be pretty." He warned. "I can get you out but were going to have to walk. We're probably going to see some if my memories so just shut up and watch. I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised. You're all going to stay on the path. Let's move."

Dash scoffed. "Fenton, There isn't a damn path in sight." Danny glared at the blonde and blinked. A glowing sliver path appeared underneath our feet.

"Now." Danny said as if nothing had happened. "Follow me."

It was pretty easy to see that those who weren't used to spectral interruptions got bored quickly. I kept on glancing backwards before Danny set a hand on my shoulder. "I can see what they're doing Sam. It needs to happen." I raised my eyebrows.

"You sound a lot like Clockwork Danny. I'm not sure how I feel about that." Danny chuckled and pressed a kiss on my cheek.

"Brace yourself. Jack's about to do something stupid." I turned around and watched as Jack took a step off of the path and the world twisted.

I blinked a couple of times and found that we were in a room with black walls and flooring. "I told you to not step off of the path." Danny scolded as he shook his head at Jack. Maddie's jaw dropped.

"Daniel Matthew Fenton! Who do you think you are to reprimand your father?" Danny gazed at her, a bit of anger in his eyes.

"The person who's mind this belongs to. I told you not to stray from the path in my head. He strayed from the path." Danny curiously gazed at the middle of the room and smiled. "Be thankful. It's a good memory."

"Pardon me?" My Dad asked, eyebrows raised. "I don't see anything." Danny rolled his eyes.

"Wait a moment Mr. Manson. I can see everything here. It'll show up in a moment." Just as Danny said, the room transformed into a scene, dropping us in the middle.

"Hey!" Danny laughed as he chased Rosie around in the yard behind the Manson house. "You need to come inside and get ready for bed My Flower." Danielle ran in the opposite direction, bare footed. She was holding her shoes and had her sweatshirt tied around her waist.

"You can't get me!" She called as she hid behind Sam. "I have a shield." She declared. Sam picked the girl up and smiled.

"The shield is on Danny's side." Sam informed. Rosie groaned.

"But I'm not sleepy yet. And Danny isn't normally here for bedtime." Danny walked over and took the girl from Sam.

"Well my Flower, that means that we'll just have to read a bedtime story. As soon as you're ready for bed of course." Danielle smirked.

"Would you tell me something from real life? Like something that Danny Phantom did?" Danny planted a kiss on top of the girl's head.

"Well that depends on how fast you can get ready for bed Rosie." The child's mouth dropped and she leapt from Danny's arms.

"I'll be ready by the time that you're inside!" She called over her shoulder. Danny took Sam's hand and she set her head on his shoulder.

"Do you really think that she'll be ready when we get inside?" Sam asked with a grin on her face. Danny shrugged.

"She is really good at staying on task when she wants something Sam." Danny tugged at Sam's hand and led her inside. "Come on, let's see how quickly we can get Rosie to fall asleep before homework."

The scene faded, leaving everyone back on the path. Everyone was staring at the three of us. Rosie looked like she was struggling to keep herself visible. Danny set a hand on Rosie's ankle and she relaxed as Danny made sure that she didn't lose control of her powers.

"Why was Rosie sleeping at our house?" Mom asked curiously. "I don't remember authorizing that." Rosie opened her mouth but I set a hand on her knee.

"Rosie's dad doesn't have a safe place for them right now so she's been staying with us. Grandma's her guardian. Her dad has a plan and they'll have a place to stay sometime this summer. She's been staying at our house for a year and you never noticed." My dad walked over and Danielle shied away from him. Danny nodded and Rosie carefully climbed down from his shoulders, keeping her hand clasped with her father's.

Danielle held out her free hand carefully. "Hi." She said softly. "I'm Danielle Rose." My dad shook her hand.

"I'm Jeremy. I'd kind of like to get to know you seeing how much Sammy likes you." For once I didn't correct my father at the use of the nickname. I was actually focused on the memory.

"It was right before she started calling us Mama and Daddy." Danny whispered in my ear. "You and I were studying for that huge math test."

"And you told her the story of when the Great Danny Phantom and his team stopped Freakshow from taking over the world." I finished, emphasizing the word great. Danny nodded before straightening up.

"Are you going to stay on the path now?" He asked. Everyone just stared at him. Danny shook his head. "That's what I thought, come on. I'd like to get a little closer to the center before somebody does something stupid."

Thankfully, the memory scared some sense into everyone for a while.

Rosie was skipping as we journeyed to the center of Danny's mind, without a care in the world. Every few minutes she would run back to Danny and me, ready to tell us her new idea on how to do something amazing, like cure cancer of go on a rollercoaster without getting motion sick. The ghost girl fluttered between almost everybody like a butterfly, staying clear of Danny's folks, Paulina and Dash.

Jazz and Tucker were walking with their hands intertwined, something that seemed so simple. A soft blush colored Jazz's face as she spoke with Tucker. They couldn't date, not yet, because Jazz was a teacher at Casper. The rule was stupid right here, considering that they were only two years apart. As soon Tuck graduated, they planned on dating, but for now, they were settling with simply holding hands and flirting.

Dash and Paulina were sighing as they tried to find something that interested them before they started talking about something that happened to one of their friends.

My parents and grandma were walking normally, well Grandma was wheeling but you get the point. They were still keeping an eye out for anything "Immoral" though. The only people I was truly keeping an eye on other than Rosie were Jack and Maddie. Maddie was keeping a tight grip on Jack's arm, making sure that he was in the middle of the path. Her eyes kept on flitting to the darkness with a scientific curiosity. She wanted to know more about her mysterious son and was using all of her willpower to not rush into the darkness of Danny's mind. I knew that she wouldn't be able to hold herself back for long.

I gently squeezed Danny's hand and he smiled at me. "Yes Sam?" He asked, soft and sweet with his voice barely more than a murmur.

"What's going to happen next?" I inquired. Danny laughed softly, shaking his head as he moved.

"Despite the fact that I sounded like I was channeling Clockwork, I really don't know Sam. I have a vague sense the something big is going to happen. I think it has something to do with our spooky little secret and that there's going to some kind of fight but that's it."

I huffed. "That's not what I wanted to hear Handsome." Danny grinned at me.

"You know you love me." He trilled in a sing-song voice.

"Somehow I do." I said as I rolled my eyes. Danny tensed suddenly. "What's wrong?" I hissed in alarm. Danny didn't answer, he only turned as we were twisted into another dark room.


	3. Chapter 3

Tucker's POV

Danny whipped around and snarled at Dash. Danny glared and Dash quivered, terrified.

"Is it really that hard to stay on the path?"

Dash held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry. I tripped." Danny sighed before a frozen breeze blew his hair back for a moment and the faintest echo of a cackle entered my ears. Danny tensed, his feet shifting into a battle stance. I remembered that laugh, and if I was right this wasn't going to be fun.

"What's wrong?" Rosie asked quickly. Danny's eyes scanned the room before his eyes widened.

"Close your eyes and cover your ears Flower." He demanded. Danielle opened her mouth to protest but Sam cut her off.

"Do it now Danielle!"

She put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes before mumbling. "Yes Ma'am. Tap me when it's safe again."

Danny glanced over at Jazz, Sam and I. "CATs," He confirmed, "at the Nasty Burger." Jazz squeezed my hand a bit tighter. The three of us couldn't remember the fight at the Nasty Burger and even though that Danny had told us what happened, he had still been very vague. This was going to be a memory worth seeing, despite the fact that it was going to suck and we were going to die.

"Danny?" Maddie asked, reaching over to set a hand on Danny's shoulder. He flinched at the contact and carefully removed the hand. "Are you alright?"

Danny clenched his teeth as the room changed. "No. I'm really not."

Despite the early hour it was already dark. The sky was a deep purple and changing to a deep green, as if the sun itself was hiding from the evils of Dark Dan, an alternative Danny Phantom for the future with flaming hair, a goatee, no morals, and a horrible attitude. Dan's main goal was to kill. The few moments before Danny got there could been seen, probably because he had seen them on his way to save his friends and family.

"Nice try Jazz. But me, my future, I'm inevitable." Dan duplicated, surrounding Jasmine and wrapping her in tangible ectoplasm. One of the monster's doubles gagged the girl with wriggling ectoplasm before he pulled himself back together and slammed Jazz next to the rest of her family and Danny's friends on the Nasty Sauce. Dan started to cackle before a voice of a boy rang out.

"Hey Old Man! Ready for a blast from your past?" Danny Phantom slammed into Dan, forcing him away from the humans. "Don't worry. I won't turn into that. Ever. I promise." The ghost grinned at a stunned Lancer. "I'm guessing this sort of explains my periodic absences, huh?" The teacher only blinked at him with wide eyes. A tube of glowing green energy grasped the hero around the waist and pulled him up to the Dark Phantom. Dan held Danny Phantom up in the air by the ectoplasm. "What are you going to do?" The young hero asked, "Waist me? What happens to you then?"

The elder of the two glared at the younger. "You don't get it, do you? I'm still here, I still exist, that means you still turn into me." The ghost punched Danny in the face with a glowing fist, slamming Danny against a light post. "I don't have to waist you, I just have to run out the clock until your entire life falls apart." The flaming monster flew to the young Phantom and Danny sunk through the floor, avoiding the elder and slipping on metallic gloves simultaneously.

"Maybe if you'd remembered more about your family, you'd have remembered the specter deflector." The young hero snapped a silver belt around the ghost's waist, making him scream. "Or the ghost gauntlets!" The young Phantom slugged the elder, slamming him into an oil truck. Dan's hair caught the oil on fire, making the truck explode.

Danny turned, unaware that Dan hadn't been blown apart by the blast. The flaming ghost pulled the specter deflector off, a murderous glare in his eyes. He grabbed the younger Phantom, throwing him to the round on the street. "Your time is up Danny." He started making doubles, all of them speaking at the same time. "It's been up for ten years."

The Dans all slammed their fists into Danny's body at the same time, clobbering the young man. Danny fell to the ground, weary and hurt. His eyes slipped closed and he struggled to open them as Dan merged back together. "What makes you think that you can change my past?" Dan asked, a mocking undertone to his voice. Danny struggled to his knees, trying desperately to get off of his face.

"Because I promised my family." Danny spat, venom coloring his voice. Dan laughed, his whole body moving with his amusement at the boy.

"Oh you are such a child!" Dan mocked, still laughing. "You promised?" Danny finally made his way to his knees and then pushed himself to his feet.

"Yes! I PROMISED!" Instead of a simple scream the words turned into a wail. Supersonic echoes left his mouth and slammed the ghost back, plowing him through the asphalt.

Dan was now on his back, scrapped up and bleeding green ectoplasm. His blood red eyes were wide. "That power, ugh, it's not possible! I don't get that power until ten years from now!"

Danny stepped forwards, weak, but still on his feet. "I guess, the future isn't as set in stone as you think it is." He took another deep breath, and screamed with the same destructive scream as before. Windows broke, buildings shook, and Dan was smashed into an abandoned building before a truck followed him. The building fell on top of him.

Danny reverted to human, his hands on his knees as he panted. He fell to the ground and groaned as Dan climbed out of the wreckage. The ghost's suit was in tatters and his hair was almost completely out. "Well, that it, isn't it?"

Danny shook his head, eyes flashing green for a split second. "Time's up." He whipped a thermos off of his belt, sucking the beast inside.

"It's too late to escape," Dan yelled as he was sucked inside, "and you're too late to save them." Danny capped the thermos and smiled for a split second before remembering the Nasty Burger.

"Oh no." Danny ran to the group, trying to turn back into his ghostly alter ego. "I can't go ghost." He cried as he tripped over a rock, falling to the ground. "NO!" He screamed. And the Nasty Burger exploded.

Everyone was tossed from the memory and Danny took a shaky breath as Danielle removed her hands from her ears and opened her eyes. She wrapped her arms tighter around Danny from her perch on his shoulders. Danny's hand was clasped in Sam's and by how pale his fingers were, I didn't doubt that she had a death grip on his hand. I looked down at my hand and realized just how tightly Jazz was holding on to me. I didn't ask her to loosen her grasp, she was paler than Plasmius and that wasn't good. "What the hell was that Fenton?" Dash gasped.

Danny looked around at the people in his head, Jazz, Rosie, Me, Sam, his parents, Sam's parents, our teacher, Dash, and Paulina. The truth wouldn't work with most of these people, at least not yet. "A stupid nightmare." Danny finally spat. "Don't bother noting it. It never happened."

Paulina opened her mouth in shock. "The Ghost Boy turned into you!" Jazz rolled her eyes.

"Danny Phantom." She breathed under her breath in a voice full of admiration towards her brother and venom to the girl who never called him by the right name. She was too quiet for anyone other than me, Rosie and Danny to hear. The way his sister said his name did nothing to help Danny calm down.

"It's just a stupid nightmare." Danny insisted, "Nothing like that actually happened in real life. I'm not the only person to have dreamed that they're a superhero before. Just drop it."

Paulina and Dash did but Danny's parents didn't. Maddie rushed at Danny and I could tell that he barely kept himself from blasting her as she pulled him into a hug that was too hard and too long for his tastes. She didn't permeation to touch him. After she ripped him apart, few people were allowed to touch him. Unfortunately Maddie didn't know the pain she had caused Danny.

"My poor baby! No wonder it was a nightmare, you were a ball of useless ectoplasm and emotions instead of my baby boy! I'll bet Phantom planted that dream! I'm going to find him and rip him to shreds for coming near you! As soon as were out of here in grabbing my bazooka and going on a hunt!" Danny stayed tense under Maddie's arms.

"Uh? Mrs. F? It looks like Danny could use some space." I suggested as Danny started to pale. The huntress glared at me, making Rosie whimper.

"Tucker. That's nonsense. Danny and I have done this after every one of his nightmares ever since he was a toddler. He doesn't need space, he needs me, his mother."

Danny removed his mother's arms from his person. "Maddie. I'm fine, we're moving now." He shot a look at the crew around him, daring the oblivious humans to tell him that he had to sit here any longer. Not surprisingly, nobody protested.

Danny set his jaw and kept his hand in Sam's, squeezing firmly. His free arm was on Rosie's leg, controlling her powers for her no doubt. I applied a bit of pressure to Jazz's hand. "Do you think he's really okay?" I breathed softly so the elder Fenton's wouldn't hear. Jazz shook her head just slightly, a movement so small that you wouldn't have realized that she answered unless you were paying very close attention.

"He's rebuilding his security, but being forced to share his memories with everyone has to hurt him. It wouldn't be a big deal if it was just the five of us, but it's the others too. They aren't on the list of people he trusts Tucker, we're the only five he trusts." Jazz watched her brother carefully and I did the same. Danny had been my best friend ever since we were five years old. We couldn't have been closer if we were brothers by blood. I was more than a bit worried about him.

Thankfully, Danny was starting to relax just a tad. Rosie was telling him a new story, one about the time that she and Youngblood poked around Pariah Dark's castle without getting caught. She waved her arms as she spoke, an animated description of her smashing the skeleton goons. Thankfully, Danielle was a smart little girl. She was telling it like the story had nothing to do with her, only calling herself. "The Phantom Rose." If you didn't know her, you would think that she was just weaving a story together out of nothing to make Danny smile. She was making her father smile though.

Jazz grinned, a spark of an idea flying across her face. "Hey Guys!" She called out. Everyone stopped and started at her.

"What's up Jazzy?" Danny asked softly, his blue-green eyes twinkling softly. A grin broke out across her face.

"I knew it! It's a healing process! Even though it hurts the sharing of memories is helping you! I have a theory, I think that your mind is taking advantage of the situation, tossing the memories that you need to share at you. Usually, you would be able to think and travel to the center of your mind in a snap because the part of you that's here is simply your conscious mind, the part of you that's controlling where we are is your subconscious. That means that your subconscious is going to keep on moving your center until we're through with the memories that need to be shared. By that logic, moving is pointless and staying off the path is a must!"

Everyone was silent for a couple of minutes, translating what Jazz had said into normal English. "Huh?" Paulina asked simply, voicing what the people who weren't with Jazz all the time were thinking. The people that weren't the team.

Sam rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. I had no doubts that she was getting close to the end of her rope with Paulina. "She means that Danny needs to show us his memories."

Paulina's mouth closed and she nodded her head. "That makes more sense, just say that next time and everyone will have one less headache."

"I don't have a headache." Rosie, Sam, Danny and I all said at the same time. Jazz smiled.

"That's because you hear my brain babble all the time. Are you going to let us step off of the path Danny? I want it to be by your choice this time." Danny was silent for a moment, glancing at the ground. He wrapped his arms around his chest, shivering slightly with the fear that his worst memory would show up next.

"Dude," I started, "there's a pattern. You should get a better memory next. And if not we're all right here." The young man bit his lip.

"If I say yes, will we be trapped for less time?" Jazz nodded.

"It's the only way I can think of Little Brother. If I had any other ideas you would know." Danny set his jaw and nodded.

"Then let's get this over with." Danny walked over to the edge of the road, closed his eyes, and took a step off of the path.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Erm. Wow. I didn't think that this would be so well liked. I've got three chapters out and what 10 reviews. That's flippn' awesome if you ask me, so thanks. I'm going to be at summer camp all this week so here's another round of chapters. Leave the reviews and I'll either read them today, tomorrow morning, or Friday. Later Phans!**_

**Danny's POV**

The step over the path was hard but the delay when everyone was inside was much worse. I looked around, desperately trying to figure out what the new memory I had to share was. Another wash of cool air blew through the room. Suddenly, a single memory was crystal clear, the one that we were going to be watching.

It was, admittedly, bizarre having everyone inside my head like this. Especially because I didn't want to spend more than ten minutes with a few of the people in my head right now. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I filched slightly at the contact but I didn't push her away. "Is this a bad one Daniel?" She asked softly.

I shook my head. "This one should be reasonable enough." I said softly.

Rosie put her face down close to mine. "Any warning for me Daddy?" She whispered almost inaudibly.

"My shirt's coming off." I breathed as I set her down. Danielle nodded and I snagged Sam's hand before the room changed.

_Danny knocked on a glass door, a sliding door onto a balcony. He was clutching his chest with his free arm and shivering even though it wasn't cold at all in March this Amity. Sam opened the door, an expression of careful concern washing over her face at the sight of the man. "Danny," She whispered softly._

_Danny carefully removed his arm from his chest, wincing as he moved. His chest was starting to darken, a muddy crimson staining his shirt. "I ruined all of your hard work." He whimpered. "I was thrashing in my sleep again. Another nightmare. My stiches broke open and Jazz can't sew to save her life."_

_Sam stood on her tip-toes, pressing a kiss on Danny's forehead before leading him inside. She made sure that he sat down on her bed. "Stay here while I grab the first aid kit. Just don't move and hide if anyone comes, okay? We don't want my folks knowing you're here." Sam said soothingly, Danny nodded and sat still like a statue as Sam jogged over to her closet and grabbed a hospital grade medical kit. Danny glanced at the clock as he waited for her. 2:27 am._

_"I'm sorry for having to wake you up again Sam." The woman rolled her eyes._

_"Danny. You, Rosie, Grandma, Tuck, and Jazz are the only people I would get up in the middle of the night to help with anything. Even if it was just those fucking nightmares, I would still want you to come over so I could help you."_

_Danny shifted as Sam set the kit down, grasping the hem of his shirt. He gritted his teeth before lifting his arms over his head. Sam quickly pulled the shirt off so Danny wouldn't have to pull the strained skin and muscle very long. "I know. I just, feel so helpless. I'm not supposed to be the helpless one, you know?"_

_"I hear you." Sam said as she carefully dabbed a cool cloth with disinfectant over Danny's wound before taking a closer look. The woman gasped, tears shining in her eyes. "You got some kind of infection." She whispered, wiping her tears on her shirt sleeve before starting to remove the old stiches._

_"Is there any puss?" Danny asked softly. Sam shook her head, an uncharacteristic waver in her voice._

_"No, it's just draining." She whispered. Danny nodded and Sam bit her lip. "Why didn't you come to me sooner? This must be like acid."_

_Danny looked like he was struggling not to shrug. "It didn't compare to getting the cuts so I didn't notice. The only time I really notice is when I wake up and everywhere hurts, a phantom pain that shouldn't be there and only is because I have PTSD." Danny laughed humorlessly. "Phantom pains. Of all of the puns to pick, I chose that one."_

_Sam didn't laugh. "It's going to take me a couple of minutes more with this infection. I don't want to make anything worse. I love you, okay? Just remember that."_

_Danny reached a bloodied hand up and gently cupped Sam's cheek. "I couldn't forget that if I tried Beautiful, just do your best."_

_Sam nodded as she threaded a length of black surgical thread onto her needle. Her fingers ghosted over Danny's chest and abdomen as she sewed the wound closed again. After a good ten minutes, she tied the cord off, sighing with relief._

_"I'm done. You should probably head home and try to get some more sleep tonight. It's only three am."_

_Danny looked at her with owl eyes, the fear in them obvious. Sam looked like her heart was melting. "You don't want to leave, do you Danny?" He shook his head quickly, tears gathering in his eyes._

_Sam carefully wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. He wasn't broken, cracked and wounded so that it would take him a long time to heal and he probably would never be the same but not broken. "Shh, it's okay. I won't make you. Just lay down and I'll be back in a second. I just need to wash my hands, alright?"_

_Danny nodded again, wrapping his arms around himself. "Alright. I'll be here. Just don't make me go back."_

_Sam kissed the hero's lips. "I won't. Just rest." She walked off and Danny walked around to the other side of the bed. It was the side that Sam never slept on, the side that she had silently declared was Danny's spot. He laid on his back, hands resting on his stomach. His eyes slipped closed as he tried to calm himself down._

_Sam was lying beside him moments later. She wrapped an arm around her boyfriend, making sure that she could still feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest. "I love you." She breathed softly. "Now sleep."_

_Danny chuckled softly. "I love you too Sam. G'night."_

I was very aware of everyone staring at me but I took a deep breath before turning my eyes to Jeremy Manson. As I had expected, his face was beet red.

I walked forwards to the fuming man and led him a ways down the path with my back facing the rest of the group. "I know you're furious," I started, "But all I did was get patched up and sleep."

Jeremy glared at me harshly for a moment before glancing back at his daughter. Sam was watching us carefully, making sure her Dad did nothing to hurt me. Jeremy softened. "What did she patch up? Nobody got a good look in the memory."

I breathed a shaking sigh of relief before carefully studying the man before me. He only wanted to protect Sam. I sighed. "You're all going to see anyways."

I carefully lifted my shirt and Jeremy paled so his face looked like paper. "How did you get that?" He breathed as I dropped the shirt. Memories bombarded my mind, making me cringe.

"You'll find out soon. It'll probably be a memory I'm forced to share considering it's my worst memory." Jeremy nodded but didn't try to pry. I wrapped my arms around my abdomen as we walked back to the rest of the group. I turned to Sam. "I hope you know how incredibly much I love you." I whispered. Sam smiled softly as she gripped Rosie's hand.

"To the sun and back. Just like I do you." She breathed. Dash stepped forwards and walked to me. My arms tightened around my body, sheltering myself.

"What do you want?" I asked warily. Dash took a hold of my shirt and a barely held myself back from blasting him.

"I want to see the damage." Fear flashed though my eyes for a split second before I set my jaw.

"No." I said firmly, venom lacing my voice. Dash stared at me for a moment before sighing.

"I'm not as dumb as you think Fenton, only reason I'm still playing football is so I can get a scholarship to a good college. I'm going to be an ER doctor Dummy. Now are you going to let me see or no? I already know a bunch even without going to med school yet. I haven't seriously picked on you since we were fourteen and my parents split. I'm not a fucking monster so let me help!"

I blinked and bit my lip. "Maybe later. Just not right now." I said. "Right now I just want you people out of my head." Dash shot me a look of sympathy before backing off. I looked towards the path and could almost taste bile. "Somebody else needs to step off." I whimpered. Sam snaked her arms around me and squeezed, distracting me as Rosie ran off the path.

As soon as we were done twisting into the new memory, I scanned quickly, panic rising. I inhaled sharply. "Sam! Tucker! The portal!"

I backed up into the corner of the little room, paling further. Rosie climbed onto my lap and wrapped her arms around me, hiding her face in my chest so she wouldn't have to see me die. Sam sat down next to me and took my hand. Tuck was on my other side, a hand on my shoulder. I didn't doubt that we were scaring the others as we were thrust into the memory.

_The trio, all roughly fourteen years of age, sneaked down the stairs into the Fenton's lab. Danny kept on glancing over his shoulder as he ushered his two friends down the stairs. "We're going to have to be quick," He said quietly as he closed the door to the lab. "I'm not supposed to be down here without supervision." He said at normal volume, convinced that the door would stop his voice from reaching the rest of the house._

_Tucker grinned and ran down the stairs, marveling at all of the equipment. "This would make my PDA run so much faster. And this would upgrade my computer. And this would make my feet stop smelling like fish!"_

_Danny rolled his eyes as he and Sam walked down the stairs at a much slower pace. "Hold your horses Techno Geek, most of this stuff doesn't even work." Tucker's happiness deflated as Sam strode over to the portal. She folded her arms as she looked the hole in the wall over._

_"And this thing doesn't even work?" She asked in disbelief. Danny nodded as he walked over to her._

_"Yeah, it's a bit of a disappointment too. My folks spent a bunch of money in it. That portal probably costs more than everything in my bedroom. I kind of hoped that this one wouldn't fail." The two of them were silent for a moment before Sam pulled a Polaroid out of her pocket._

_"Look on the bright side, it'll make an interesting back drop for pictures." Danny snorted as she threw a jumpsuit at him. It was the white one with black gloves and boots with his Dad's face on the front. The one that Danny's parents were always trying to get him to wear but he never did._

_Danny looked down at the clothing and then back to Sam. "No." He groaned. "Sam come on!" She gave him a charming smile, the one she knew made Danny melt._

_"Just a couple of pictures Danny," She coaxed. "Just hold the jumpsuit up and let me snap." Danny sighed and walked in front of the portal as Tucker leaned on the only clean counter in the lab. "Smile!" He held up the suit and frowned as Sam started snapping a couple pictures, sliding them in her pocket after every picture._

_"There, I showed you the portal. Can we get out of here now, my parents could be back here any minute. Besides, they say it doesn't work anyway." He reminded them._

_Sam gazed into the interior of the metal structure. "Come on Danny, a Ghost Zone? Aren't you curious? You've got to check it out." Danny looked back into the tunnel and his self-control crumbled._

_"You know what? You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome super cool things that could exist on the other side of that portal?" He pulled on the jumpsuit and zipped the little zipper up. A look of determination fell to his face, like he knew that this was a bad idea, but he was doing it anyways. Sam sighed._

_"Hang on." She walked over and ripped the Jack Fenton decal off. "You can't go walking around with that on your chest."_

_Danny turned to the portal, walking inside cautiously. He looked around at the glowing circuitry, frown falling to rest on his face as he set a hand on the wall. His hand hit a button and he screamed a wordless cry as his body was supercharged with electricity._

_Sam and Tucker looked around franticly trying to figure out what was happening. "Turn it off!" Tucker yelled. Sam looked around, eyes wide._

_"How?" She yelled back desperately._

_Just as suddenly as the portal turned on, it switched off, leaving a glowing green mist inside the tunnel. Sam ran forwards, waving her hand through the green swirls. "Danny?" She cried._

_A boy walked through the mist, a boy with snow white hair and radioactive green eyes. The colors on the jumpsuit had inverted, leaving the body black with the boots and gloves white. His eyes were scrunched up in pain as he stumbled to the ground._

_"That hurt." He whispered as he passed out, flashing back into the ghost hunters' son instead of the glowing boy._

I found myself back on the path, right in the middle. Rosie was still clutching me life a lifeline, her tears making my shirt wet. Sam pressed a kiss on my cheek as she stood up. Tucker clapped a hand on my back and stood in front of me, shielding me from the others with his body. I started rubbing Rosie's back, pressing soft kisses to the top of her head.

"Shh. It's alright Rosie, I'm alright." She held me tighter, hiccupping.

"B-but you died! I heard you die!" She whimpered. I nodded.

"Believe me My Flower, I know. Take a breath. I'm right here. I'm right here Rosie." Slowly, very slowly, Rosie stopped crying. I stood up and held her on my hip, her arms wrapped around my neck.

Paulina's eyes were wet as she spoke. "Little Rose just showed us that wasn't a dream." she whispered. "What happened to you Danny?"


	5. Chapter 5

Sam's POV

Danny bit his lip, holding Rosie a bit closer. If we weren't in his mind, he probably would have been bleeding with how hard he was biting. "Are you sure I can't say that was a nightmare? Because I think that looked like a nightmare. Nobody could survive that."

My mom folded her arms and raised her eyebrows at Danny. "Rosie was sobbing Daniel. That wasn't just a nightmare. Explain to us Daniel." Danny looked down to the floor and sighed.

"I'm not completely human anymore." He said finally. That's when the Fenton's exploded.

"YOU ECTOPLASMIC MONSTER! YOU'VE BEEN EATING OUR FOOD! INTERACTING WITH OUR DAUGHTER! LIVING IN OUR HOME! WE SHOULD HAVE FINISHED YOU OFF THE FIRST TIME. THAT OTHER LITTLE PHANTOM GIRL TOO!" When they threatened Rosie, they went too far. Danny's eyes flared pure green, making the normal humans gasp. He carefully set Rosie down next to me before walking over to his parents.

Everyone who wasn't one of the hunters or Danny scrambled over behind me and Rosie. Even Jazz and Tucker were scared of Danny when he was this enraged. Danny walked forwards, his anger tangible. He towered over Maddie by a good six inches but he was still several inches shorter than Jack. That didn't make him any less intimidating. "If you EVER touch her again I will do to you what you did to ME!" He snarled. "I'll fucking tear you apart if you so much as BREATH on her. She is a CHILD and you LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"A ghost child!" Maddie snapped.

Danny stared at the ground, breathing deeply. "You took away her chance at being an innocent little girl." He growled. "She will be haunted with that memory forever. The both of you will stay silent until you're out of here." Danny walked over and picked Rosie up again. She still had little tears running down her checks with the fear of the people that were supposed to love her. The people that were supposed to spoil her and then hand her back to Danny and me.

Danny wiped tears off of her face with the pad of his thumb as he sank to the ground. "Why don't we take a break for a minute before the next memory? You look like you need it Flower." Rosie nodded quickly, wrapping her arms tightly around Danny. She whispered something in his ear and he nodded. "Sam?" He asked softly. "I need your help."

I rushed over, disregarding the fact that I looked like Rosie's Mama instead of Rosie's friend like I was supposed to. I knelt down next to Danny and Rosie moved so that she was sitting between us. "I'm scared." She whispered.

I nodded, brushing her hair behind her ears before replying even quieter. "I know. But you're safe in here." Rosie glanced over at Jack and Maddie, tensing when she saw them staring at Danny.

"But as soon as we're out they can get us. They know who you are now. Where are you going to live? When are they going to put it together that I'm me?" Danny pressed a kiss on Rosie's head.

"They're never getting you. End of story Flower. I don't know where's I'm going to stay now but I'll be okay. And I don't know when they'll put it together. But I do know that you My Flower, have nothing to worry about. Mama and I'll take care of the grown up stuff."

Rosie nodded and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing tightly. "I really hope so. I really hope we're going to be okay." Danny pressed his lips to Danielle's brow one more time before standing.

"I'm going to step off now." Danny warned as he walked over off of the path. The twist in my stomach felt stronger this time, almost like we were closer to the end.

Danny as already looking around by the time I opened my eyes. My mom raised her hand and lowered it quickly at the look on Danny's face. Pure elation. He blinked turquoise eyes and smiled. "Just a couple weeks ago. Dia de los Muertos." He hummed happily. Paulina's jaw dropped while Mr. Lancer frowned in concentration. My parent's raised their hands.

"And Dia de los Muertos is?" Dad asked.

"Day of the Dead." Paulina and Rosie answered in unison. Rosie stopped talking there but Paulina didn't break off there.

"I love Dia de los Muertos. It's a two day Mexican holiday. I've been able to convince the school board to let us celebrate at school because of the large amount of students with Mexican descent and the mass amount of sprits in Amity. The first day is Day of the Little Angels, the second is Day of the Dead. For the two days we get to paint sugar skulls in art and make a traditional shrine. It's the time when I feel closest to Mi Mama." My grandmother rolled forwards and picked Rosie up, setting her on her lap.

"You aren't the only one who loves the holiday child, watch." There was time for no more as the memory surfaced.

_Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Rosie were all standing outside of Casper on the first of November. The halfas were glowing faintly, happy for the first time in months. "We need to go in now." Rosie insisted. "Something's different today." Something was different. For the first time in months, Rosie was happy, not terrified. She was wearing a pale pink tee, a shirt that Sam hadn't wanted to get for her but knew that it would be bad to try to force black on her daughter._

_Danny smiled softly as he took Rosie's hand and walked quickly with her inside. Tucker started at them with wide eyes. "What the hell?" He whispered. "Are you sure they aren't overshadowed?" Sam nodded numbly._

_"I've been with them since they woke up. They've been happy, almost as happy as they were in April." Tucker's jaw dropped as he ran up to the halfas._

_"Wait for me you two!" He called. Sam snorted as she jogged to reach the rest of the crew._

_The two halfas were standing in the hall, glowing faintly. Danny's hands were wrapped around himself, a stupid grin on his face. Sam waved a hand in front of his eyes. "What's up with you?" She asked curiously, an amused smile on her face._

_"What's the date?" Danny asked urgently. Sam rolled her eyes._

_"Thanks for answering my question with a question." She murmured as she checked on her phone. "It's the first of November. And apparently Dia de Los Muertos. Why?"_

_"Dia de Los Muertos is what's up." Rosie said with a grin. "The school is sending something off. I can't tell what. And there's a bunch of really weak ghosts here. Too weak to set off my ghost sense, but they're here." The first bell rang and the group looked at each other before running._

_The trio slid into homeroom about three seconds before the late bell rang. Danny pumped his fists. "That, was fantastic!" He congratulated his friends before looking around the room. Most of the desks were filled. Every desk with a student in it, had a pure white skull made of sugar the size of a fist on the surface. Paulina had two skulls._

_Mr. Lancer sighed as he marked us present. "Try to be a bit more punctual next time you three." He drawled. "Another thirty seconds and you would have been late."_

_Sam blushed, falling back on her standard excuse. "Sorry. We slept in." Lancer exhaled deeply._

_"Just take a skull from the box and sit down." The trio nodded quickly, carefully picking up one of the fragile sugar pieces and walking down to their respective desks. "Now that you're all here. Ms. Sanchez has an announcement to make."_

_Paulina stepped up to the front of the room, an orange flower in her hair. "As most of you know, today is Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. I took it upon myself to talk with the teachers and I convinced them that we should all remember our dead over the two day celebration. That means, for the first hour of today and tomorrow we all get to make sugar skulls. You can take them home and put them on a shrine of your own, or put them on the shrine in the lunchroom. We have icing, paint brushes, sequins, and feathers on Mr. Lancer's desk. Have fun!" Paulina quickly grabbed a small piping bag of each neon green and hot pink icing along with a paint brush as she rushed back to her desk._

_People started to chatter as they walked up to the front of the room, grabbing their icing and brushes. Danny snagged some pink, pale blue, red, black, and bright green. Sam caught Danny's eyes and he mouthed "Rosie." Sam grinned. She made sure that she passed him on her way back to her seat. She pressed a swift kiss on his lips before Lancer could protest._

_"I, am making one for Danny Phantom." She hummed, getting almost as much of a kick out of this as Danny was. The only reason that she wasn't as chipper was probably because she wasn't being fed positive energy from the shrine in the cafeteria._

_Danny sat down in his desk, carefully holding the skull in his palm. He dipped the brush in blue icing as he started painting the pupils. He smiled softly. This was going to be good._

_Danny worked on that skull for a solid thirty minutes, painting swirls, ghosts, little flowers, and paw prints, before walking over to Sam. She smiled smugly. "Whatcha need Danny?" She asked brightly. Danny carefully sat the skull down and smiled softly._

_"Can you help me paint a rose on here? It's for the Phantom Rose." Sam nodded and dipped Danny's brush in red icing. She guided his hand, making a pretty little rose on the top of the skull. Danny smiled brightly, "Thank you." He breathed._

_Sam shook her head. "No problem Danny, Whatcha think about this?" She carefully turned the skull towards the halfa and shivers ran up his spine. The skull's eyes were painted green and as Danny set his hand gently on the top of the skull, they glowed brightly._

_"It's perfect." He said breathlessly as he walked back to his seat. He carefully painted Phantom Rose on the forehead of the sugar. He smiled as he finished up the skull for his daughter. He set it carefully on his desk to dry as looked over at Paulina._

_One of her skulls was finished and she was working furiously on the other. He shook his head and walked over. "Whatcha working on Paulina?" He asked curiously. She glanced up with a slight frown._

_"Why do you want to know?" She asked cautiously. Danny shrugged._

_"I was just wondering." He said agreeably. Paulina shrugged. She pointed to the one sitting and drying in front of her._

_"That one's for the shrine at home, it's for Mi Mama. This one is for the Ghost Boy." She showed Danny the skull and he couldn't help but smile. The girl obviously admired him a lot and had put lots of work in to the skull. In place of where the dead's name usually when, there was his symbol. The eyes were painted neon green and there were lots of little blue ghosts flying around the white area._

_"That's awesome." He said honestly. "Would you have a problem if the ghost boy came and took it? He's probably listening anyways. I heard that he hangs around the school."_

_Paulina smiled brightly. "If The Phantom would like this enough to want to take it with him, then I would be honored." Danny smiled slyly._

_"Cool."_

I laughed softly. "So that's what happened there. I wondered how you got that." Danny chuckled softly.

"I snagged it from the shrine during lunch. That one glows when I touch it too." A look of dawning crossed over Paulina's eyes as she looked from Rosie to Danny.

"Phantom Rose." She murmured. "Danny Phantom. Danielle Rose. Danny Fenton." She waved her hand in front of her face as she squealed. "Rosie's the Phantom Rose!"

I chuckled softly at the look of pure panic on Rosie's face. She was so shocked that she accidently swapped to her ghost form. She shrieked before hiding behind Danny. Danny rotated as he started petting the little ghost girl's hair. She was shaking a little from concentration as she tried to turn human.

"Take a breath." Danny instructed. "Close your eyes and clear your mind." Danielle's eyes slipped closed as she sighed. "You ready now Flower?" Rosie nodded, eyes closed. "Good. Now focus on feeling human. The feeling of being anchored. The heat of a beating heart."

Ever so slowly, Rosie turned human. She continued to hide behind Danny as several of the adults stepped forwards. My parents and Mr. Lancer. Rosie blanched, flickering in and out of viability until Danny set a hand on her arm. My Dad knelt down on the ground.

"I'll take it Danielle Rose isn't really your name, is it Rosie?" Said girl shook her head.

"It is. It's just not my whole name." My dad smiled and my mom sat down beside him on the ground.

"What's your name Rosie?" My mom asked curiously. Danielle turned to Danny for conformation. He nodded.

"It's okay, they'll hear your name sooner or later in here." She nodded shyly.

"My name is Danielle Rose Fenton. Or Danielle Rose Phantom as a ghost. Phantom Rose just sounds cooler, almost like a library book."

Mr. Lancer chuckled softly, a sound I had never heard from the man. He turned to Danny. "I take it the two of you are related somehow?" He asked. Danny nodded, still stroking Danielle's hair. Jazz walked over and picked Rosie up. Rosie wrapped her arms tightly around her Aunt. Tucker nudged me in the shoulder.

"How come you're not up there in the love fest Mama?" He asked softly. I elbowed him in the side.

"Shut up. I'm fine right here." Grandma rolled up beside me and smiled.

"Sweet girl, go and join in." I shook my head and whispered.

"I'm fine right here. For all they know I'm just a friend keeping Rosie at my house for them. That means I don't get to join in on the family introduction. Yet." Suddenly, something struck me as strange. I turned around and saw that Dash was watching everything silently. It wasn't a hostile silent, like the one that the Fenton's were in, it was a thoughtful quiet. "Have we broken your brain yet Dash?" I joked. The football player cracked a smile.

"Not yet Manson, almost but not yet. I have a shitload of questions, and I'm getting answers tonight, but I can wait until we're back in the rest of the world." I nodded.

"Thank you." I said softly. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Danny felt the same thing, his head whipping in a circle until his eyes settled on Maddie. She had a cruel smirk on her face, one foot hovering over the black.

"Please." Danny whispered. "Don't." Maddie glared at him before setting her foot down in the shadows.


	6. Chapter 6

**Kay. Hi again. This is my first try at the horror-gore stuff. I don't think it's too scary but a warning for the squeamish. Again, see you all Friday!**

**Tucker's POV**

The first thing that Danny did when we got into the dark room was look around. And then he panicked. He started by backing up as far as he could from the middle of the room, pressing himself into a corner. Then he started to gasp for air. "No. N-no. I-I-I can't! Make it stop! I can't!" Danny started clawing at his chest as Sam dropped down beside him, holding him tightly. He started shaking and Sam looked over at Jazz and me.

"Jasmine. You need to hold Danielle. You need to hold her tight and start humming the flower song from that Disney movie about Rapunzel. You need to do it now. Tucker, you need to make sure that nobody tries to touch them. We're the only people on the list." Jazz and I both nodded quickly as Jazz picked up Rosie. The girl's eyes were wide as she realized what was going to be shown.

"Auntie! No! Help me!" She whispered franticly as she started shaking. Jazz started rubbing her back and humming. I stood in front of the group, making sure that nobody came near as the memory surfaced.

_It stated out so normally for the two Phantoms. It had been quiet. The two halfas had met up with Vlad, as Rosie had a strange relationship with him. He was almost her Grandfather while Danny looked at him more like an Uncle. It was a good thing that Danny had been able to help him rethink his methods when the Phantom was 16._

_They were simply reclining in a tree now, sipping on milkshakes that Danny had bought before they flew up. Rosie giggled as her Daddy poked her in the belly. "That tickles!" She squealed. Danny shook his head._

_"I'm not surprised. You're just as ticklish as your Mama." Rosie blushed and started fingering her tutu with her free hand._

_"How come Mama couldn't come with us? It's finally spring." Danny sighed._

_"She was busy. Her mom dragged her off to the mall. It's okay, you'll be able to go back home and see her then. I don't doubt that she'll sneak something into her basket for you." Rosie looked around at the park, blooming spring with kids her size running around at the playground._

_"Why can't I go play like that?" She asked wistfully. Danny sighed as he wrapped his arm around the girl._

_"Because we have plans. As soon as we're done with our milkshakes we were going to head down to the other side of town. Johnny and Kitty were going to meet us down at the bike shop, remember?" Rosie perked up quickly, remembering how her Mom had gotten so close with Kitty. Kitty and Johnny were almost like an aunt and uncle to her now, they loved to take the little hybrid on their bike with them._

_Rosie nodded quickly. "I remember now, I just wanted to swing for a little while. Please Daddy? Please?" Danny's eyes softened as he looked at the little ghost girl. He scanned the park and found a swing set with nobody around it. He sighed._

_"Alright Rosie. We'll swing for just a little bit, and then we'll go find Johnny and Kitty. We'll have to be quick though, okay?" Rosie wrapped her arms around her Daddy and squeezed tightly._

_"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Daddy!" Danny chuckled._

_"You're welcome Rosie. Now come on, we don't have much time Flower." _

_The girl shot off like a rocket, sitting daintily on the swing in a heartbeat. "Will you swing beside me?" she asked sweetly. Danny folded his arms as he landed on the sand in front of the swings._

_"I thought that I would be pushing you on the swing Flower." He said matter of factly. Rosie shook her head._

_"I can pump. I just want you to swing with me." The girl had him wrapped around her finger. Danny sighed with a smile as he sat down on the swing set next to the smaller hybrid. They started to swing and Rosie giggled joyfully. "I can go higher than you!" She challenged. Danny's mouth widened._

_"It's on Danielle!" It was a competition that most kids usually did as children, who could go the highest. They used no powers and soon, there was a group of children watching them, cheering for the heroes. Just as Rosie swung up so that her swing was parallel with the bar, ghost senses went off. Danny jumped off of his swing and launched himself in the air. "You win Rose, now let's go. We need to check that out."_

_Rosie knew better than to complain. She took off straight from the swing, flying up to the sky with her father. They dropped empty milkshake containers in the trash before soaring a good hundred feet in the air. Danny spotted the ghost quickly. Vortex was flying around over by Casper. A place neither of the Phantoms wanted to be near on a Saturday. They sighed in unison before shooting off._

_They landed lightly on their feet. Surprisingly, Vortex wasn't causing too much havoc, save disturbing the peace. Danny flew in front of Vortex, waving his arms to get the weather ghost's attention. "Hey!" He called. "Vortex! Take a second and shut up!"_

_The ghost stopped thrashing. His eyes were wide as he watched Danny. Danny nodded. "Good." He soothed. "Now, why don't you tell me what's going on? But slowly."_

_Vortex took a wheezing breath. "Flee!" He screamed before taking another gasp. "They're mad!" Danny furrowed his brow._

_"Who's angry?" he asked curiously. Vortex shook his head quickly, tugging on a glowing chain nobody noticed until then._

_"Not enraged!" He had to pause to take another breath. "The hunters are MAD!" Danny's eyes widened. The hunters. His parents. Not mad as in angry. Mad as in insane._

_"Danielle!" Danny yelled in alarm as he tried to break the chain. "Fly to Mama! Now!" Rosie flipped in the air before shrieking. She dropped like a stone._

_"Daddy!" Danny dropped the chain, darting as fast as he could to the girl. She vanished before hitting the ground._

_Danny spun in a circle. "Rosie!" He called out, panic flooding his voice. "You better not be playing!" Suddenly, sharp pain embedded itself in his side. He fell, powers failing and paralyzed. Danny kept silent. He had been struck by a dart like this before. They had been manufactured by the Guys in White, handed out to anybody who wanted a crack at a ghost. It would wear off soon, twenty minutes maximum._

_The hybrid braced himself before feeling himself plucked out of the air. He blinked quickly, making himself aware of his surroundings. He was in a Specter Speeder. Cloaking was on. Neither of those things were mind blowing. The fact that his parents were in the speeder, his mother at the wheel and his father holding him roughly by the top of his suit, was._

_Muffled screaming caught his attention and Danny looked around quickly. Rosie was tied up on the floor, a cloth gag in her mouth. "Finally caught you, you Ectoplasmic Malefactor!" Maddie said triumphantly. Danny forced himself to remain calm._

_"Yeah. You did. And I'll make a deal with you. You let Phantom Rose go, and I'll go quietly. I'll comply to all of your experiments as long as you let her go unharmed." Jack grinned at him, his large smile more than a little creepy._

_"You see, we don't have to listen to you! You, are just post-human consciousness! We'll be doing your family members a favor by disintegrating you!" Danny spat at him, slightly glowing saliva flecking across Jack's face._

_"Go to hell!" He growled shortly. "And if you harm a hair on Rosie's head, I'll send you there personally!" Jack chuckled._

_"Well, he knows how to act angry. Write that down Dear."_

_"I'm driving Jack." Jack looked down at the floor of the Speeder sheepishly._

_"Sorry Mads." He dropped the paralyzed ghost boy to the ground, walking over to the wall to grab some glowing blue rope. He bound Danny's feet and hands before trying them together so he was folded in half. "You're not going to make me gag you, are you Ghost?" Jack pulled an ecto lipstick out of his pocket, pointing it threateningly at the elder halfa. Danny shook his head, slowly regaining movement. Unfortunately, that wouldn't help him much now._

_"Just let me talk to my daughter." He said softly. "Let me talk to her and I won't scream." Jack grabbed the teen by the head, holding him up by his hair._

_"Speak up." He growled. "I want to hear every word you say to her. And none of that freaky Ghost Language either." The orange clad man dropped the younger one in black._

_Danny wriggled the best he could over to Rosie, only moving when Jack kicked him across the floor on his way to his seat. He rolled so that he was facing Rosie. She had tears of fear running down her face. She didn't want to be in another lab. She didn't want to melt again. She wanted to see her Mama again._

_"Shh." Danny soothed, aching to wipe the tears from her face. "You're going to be okay Rosie, you're going to be just fine."_

_"No. You're not!" Maddie snarled. Danny rolled his eyes._

_"You aren't helping." He groaned. His eyes settled on Rosie. She was shaking now, trembling as she tried to scream. "Hush baby. Hush now. Should I sing the flower song?" Rosie nodded the best she could and Danny smiled._

_"Alright. I'll sing the flower song." Slowly, Rosie was starting to tremble less as she heard her Daddy's voice. "Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt. Change the fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once as mine." Danny sighed as he finished singing the simple little tune. "You're going to be just fine Flower. Mama and Uncle T and Auntie are going to come help get us of this and we're going to be just fine."_

_The girl nodded as the Speeder snapped to a stop. Both of the ghosts rolled and Rosie whimpered as she slammed against the seats. Maddie stood and walked over to the halfas. She examined them closely and frowned. "The girl is smaller than we thought." She murmured. "The boy should be strong enough. Probably won't fall apart." Maddie nodded sharply. "Jack, get the containment cube ready. We can't keep them tied up like this forever. The anti-ecto properties of the rope could damage our research."_

_"You got it Sweet Cheeks!" Jack said enthusiastically. He ran out of the Speeder and into the lab, having entered through the trap door in the roof. Maddie towered over the halfas, ignoring the deadly glare she was getting from the young man._

_"Don't bother trying to act human anymore." Maddie snapped. "It wouldn't surprise me if you're only pretending to be the ant's father for attention. You're both posers, just like all of the other ghosts." Danny rolled closer to Danielle, trying to shelter her from Maddie._

_"It's not an act." Danny spat. "You're insulting my baby!" Maddie folded her arms as she watch the two._

_"That could be true." She mused. "But you're too young. The readings we've been taking of your cores as you strut around town let us know that you're both immature. You've only been dead a few years. You've been simulating growth since you've shown up three years ago. You must have been in your early teens when you died. That's too young to have children her age." A look of dawning crossed over Maddie's face. "She's a test tube baby, super-dosed with growth hormones." Rosie rolled closer to Danny, trying to hide from Maddie. The scientist smirked. "It makes no difference. You'll both still be excellent test subjects."_

_Jack stuck his head in the Speeder. "The Containment Cube's a go Mads." Maddie nodded._

_"You grab the ghost boy. I'll grab his spawn." Jack roughly grabbed the ghost boy and Maddie picked up Rosie, thankfully, a bit more carefully. It didn't mean that she was being gentle with Rosie, it mean that she didn't want to damage the girl. Either way, she was treated a bit better. They were thrown into the ecto-proof glass containment zone. Danny chuckled at the irony. He had helped his parents with their work before, throwing mindless constructs in here before they turned purely obsessed with the Phantoms. He had backed off then, staying as far away from his parents as he could. Just before the hunters closed the door, they shot the bonds off of Danny's hands._

_"You can't escape anyways." Jack said with another creepy smile. Danny crawled over to Danielle without a sound, quickly undoing the gag around her mouth. She gasped for air._

_"Daddy!" She whispered. "What's going to happen?" Danny bit his lip as he undid the rope around Rosie's wrists._

_"Do you want the truth Rosie?" He asked quietly. She nodded quickly, eyes wet. "I don't know My Flower." She gasped, quivering slightly. Danny placed a hand over her mouth as she started to stutter out cries to be let go. "Danielle Rose Phantom!" He said firmly. "You are going to be just fine. I am not going to let anyone hurt you. You are going to go home with Mama, just like you always do. And you're going to go to school, and run around in Mama's yard, and play with the little guitar Ember gave you." Danny cupped Rosie's cheek in his hand. "You're going to be just fine My Flower." He finished untying Danielle's feet and she climbed onto his lap, quickly untying his feet before wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest._

_"I want to go see Kitty and Johnny. I want Mama to tuck me in and kiss me on the top of the head before I go to sleep. I want to go home. I even want Uncle T to pinch me in the nose again." Danny nodded and pulled his gloves off before petting the girl's hair._

_Danielle cried softly, more terrified than she was when she melted. At least then she knew it would be quick. Now, death would be painful and drawn out, every little bit of her cataloged for science. She cried herself to sleep and Danny rubbed her back, trying to give her some measure of warmth that comforted her so much._

_Danny removed the cloak of his uniform, and covered Rosie with it like a blanket. He didn't wear jumpsuit that he had worn for years anymore, but his new one, the one that Sam had designed and gave to him for his seventeenth birthday last month. His black muscle shirt with white around the collar and tank top sleeves and black pants that were trimmed with white that matched his boots. His gloves that were sitting on the floor next to him were white and usually went up to his elbows. His emerald green cloak would be a sorry blanket, but it would be better than nothing. Danny traced the white logo that he shared with Danielle on his chest. It was oddly comforting, calming him enough to look around and see what his parents were doing._

_They were readying a metal table, the kind of table that Danny had nightmares about. Danny carefully scanned and saw that there was a tray of knives coated in a glowing green serum. Anti-ghost blades. They were going to rip them apart. Every piece of them would be put in a jar and studied. Their souls would detach from the bodies that they had. There would be no chance to be a ghost again. It would destroy them._

_Danny pressed a kiss on Rosie's head, lips trembling. "I love you Flower." He breathed softly. The smallest trace of a smile crossed Rosie's face as she pulled the cloak closer._

_Danny walked up closer to the scientists and knocked on the glass. Both started, surprised that the ghost would try to talk with them. Maddie pulled a remote out of her pocket and pressed a button._

_"The intercom's on ghost." She said impatiently._

_"I want to make a deal." Danny said softly. Curiosity rolled over Maddie, unlike Jack, she knew the importance of cooperation. A deal with the specter would work well for her._

_"I'm listening." She informed him. Danny bit his lip, knowing what he was proposing would most likely kill him. He was trapped, but maybe he could get Rosie some freedom and safety._

_"I'll cooperate if you don't put My Flower on the table." He said, voice cracking. "You can rip me to shreds as long as you don't hurt my baby."_

_Maddie carefully considered, she realized how helpful this would be unlike her husband. If the man cooperated, she would be able to make cleaner cuts. Better information was guaranteed. "Deal." Maddie said quickly. Tears ran down Danny's face as he crawled back to Rosie. His stomach churned as he realized that there was no getting out of this. They were too set on ripping him to shreds. Even if he revealed his secret, they would think that the ectoplasm tainted his mind. They would still rip him apart._

_"At least you'll be safer." Danny said softly. "I love you Flower. You're going to grow big and strong. Plasmius is going to help you grow and you're going to be a beautiful young lady. Tell your Mama I love her." Danny carefully stroked the girl's face, knowing that no matter which form Danielle was in, she still had a little ring of amethyst around the edge of her iris and around her pupil. Somebody rapped on the glass and Danny turned away from Rosie._

_Jack was standing outside the door. He had a bazooka in one hand and a key in the other. "Mads says you're going to come peacefully." He said cheerfully. Danny nodded, lips pressed together in a tight line. "Good. I'm going to open this door. The entire lab's been ghost proofed and if you try to run, we'll destroy her soul." Danny closed his eyes._

_"Just don't." He breathed as he walked forwards. He had his jaw set, hands clenched. He would not be weak. He couldn't. Jack opened the door and Danny stepped out, throwing one last glance at Rosie. Jack latched the door tightly behind him so Rosie couldn't get out._

_Jazz would find her. Danny reassured himself. Jazz would be coming home in a matter of hours. She would get Rosie, and Danny if he was still alive. She would bring Rosie home to Sam. He had to believe that someone would save her when he couldn't._

_Jack roughly grabbed his wrists, clamping power inhibitors on them. He shoved Danny over to the table, picking him up and strapping him down by his arms and legs with ecto-cuffs in one fluid motion. Danny turned his head and looked at the instruments. No drugs. "What about the anesthesia?" He asked. Maddie smirked as she strapped latex gloves over her black gloves. They made sickening snapping sounds and Danny flinched._

_"Anesthesia is for humans undergoing surgery." She said harshly. "You are a ghost undergoing an autopsy and having your soul banished. You don't get pain killers because you can't feel pain."_

_Danny bit his lip hard enough to draw some of his Ectoplasmic blood. "You two are monsters." He hissed. Jack glared at him before grabbing the ghost child's face._

_"You two are the monsters." Jack growled. "We, are humans doing our world as a favor. Don't. Forget. That." Danny only glared at the man._

_Jack snapped plastic gloves on over his Jumpsuit gloves and Maddie smiled cruelly. "Now, let's see what makes you tick Ghost."_

_They cut off his shirt and threw it in a bag. Then, they examined his skin. The skin was tanned, too tanned for a normal ghost. Maddie took a scalpel from Jack and set a warm hand on Danny's cold chest. She started with a traditionally autopsy incision. The first time the knife was inserted into Danny's flesh, he screamed._

_The cry was loud and powerful, bordering on a wail. There was a smack as fists started pounding against glass. Danny turned his head as Maddie made the next cut, clamping his teeth down on his tongue. Rosie was awake._

_She was pounding on the glass with all of her might, sobbing violently. She was glowing almost supernova bright with fear. The next cut made Danny's body arch. His pain tolerance was high, but not this high. Tears rolled down his cheek in a torrent. "Turn on the intercom!" Danny screamed as Jack lifted a flap of his skin up with a sickening squelching sound. Maddie set a hand in Danny's chest cavity and around glowing organs as he begged. "She's terrified! Let me talk to her!" The other two flaps of skin were moved and Danny pressed his head into his shoulder to muffle the scream._

_Pure agony washed over Danny in waved as he dug his nails into his palms, trying to bear the pain. Maddie looked at the ghost boy with the smallest trace of pity. Maddie shook her head. No. He was a ghost. An evil ghost with no regard for anyone other than himself._

_Maddie reached into her lab coat, pulling out her remote and turning on the intercom. "DADDY!" Rosie screamed. Danny's eyes brightened a little._

_"Rosie!" He called out. He bit back a cry as Jack sawed off part of one of his ribs. "Danielle Rose. Put my cloak over your head!"_

_The girl was hyperventilating. "THEY'RE KILLING YOU! DADDY!"_

_"Shh." Danny soothed. Tears squeezed through his eyes that were screwed tight. "Rosie, put the cloak over your head and sing the Flower Song. You're going to just fine My Flower."_

_"DADDY!" She sobbed. "I DON'T WANT TO BE ALRIGHT WITHOUT YOU!"_

_"Danielle Rose Phantom! Put the cloak over your head and sing the Flower Song over and over. I will be fine. Now listen to me Young Lady!"_

_Rosie sank to the floor of her glass chamber. She set the cloak over her head, the fabric doing nothing to muffle her gasping. "Daddy. Please. Don't die." She begged._

_Danny took a shaking breath as Jack's large hand went into his stomach, slicing off a piece of his stomach before tying off the open organ. "Sing the song Rosie. I love you." Danny said sadly._

_Danielle's sobs got louder. "Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine…."_

_ It went on for what felt like an eternity. Rosie sang softly, her sobs ringing through the lab. Every little while, Danny would say something to calm her down and encourage her to sing. Jack and Maddie removed portions of many body parts. Lungs, ribs, stomach, liver, tongue, a kidney, a large portion of skin, and most importantly, some of Danny's core. Unfortunate, Danny couldn't let himself pass out, as the injuries would pass over between forms. A human couldn't bleed as much as he was for very long. Ghosts had much, much more blood._

_What had to be hours after the duo had been captured, there was a knock on the lab door before an angel walked down the stairs. "Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?" Sam called out. "I can't get a hold of Danny, do you know where he is?" Sam's breathing hitched as she heard the sobs of her daughter and smelt the sour acidic ectoplasm. She crept down the stairs. Her eyes fell on Danny, body shredded and face flooded his tears. She looked quickly over to Rosie and sank with a small measure of relief as she saw her daughter was safe. "Oh shit." She said in shock. Sam quickly locked eyes with Danny. She would be right back._

_Sam ran up the stairs. A minute or two later, Maddie's phone rang. She picked it up, surprised to see that the number was unknown to her. "Yes?" She asked in confusion. "I won an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii?" She asked in shock. Maddie nodded quickly. "Yes, my husband and I'll be right there."_

_Maddie dropped her call phone with a grin. "Put the Ghost on ice Jackie! If we get down to the supermarket in the next half hour we get a free trip for two to the International Ghost Convention in Hawaii!" Jack didn't even bother to close Danny up. He simply peeled off his gloves and ran up the stairs._

_"I'll get the GAV!" He informed Maddie as she set Danny's organs in jars. She ran up the stairs moments later. The door slammed shut and there was a moment of tense silence before a trio ran down the stairs._

_Tucker ran for Rosie. He opened the ghost proof door and scooped the sobbing girl out, wrapping her tightly in the dark green cloak and carrying her out of the ectoplasm soaked lab._

_Moving Danny was harder. Sam had to search for bandages and thread before carefully sewing Danny's wound. Jazz used cool, damp rag and cleaned him off, tears streaming down her face as she Sam pressed a trembling kiss on Danny's forehead. "You can't pass out yet Danny." Sam smoothed his hair. "We're going to get you to Vlad and he's going to help you heal your internal injuries but you can't pass out yet. If you pass out you can't take me to senior prom, we can't get married, Rosie won't ever going to have any siblings or have her Daddy walk her down the aisle when she gets married. You can't pass out Babe, for us." Danny nodded, face tight with pain as the scene faded out._

I walked over and set a hand on Danny's shoulder. "It's over man." I whispered. Danny stood up shakily and raised a hand. His eyes glowed pure green and his hair bleached to white.

"It is." He said softly. "That means I can do this."

His hand glowed and slowly, Danny's mind faded out of visibility. It reminded me of the time that Sam ducked me under the water in the pool. Things were all blurry before flashing white. There was a moment of brightness before I was physically on the floor, dazed like I had been flicked between the eyes.

**Later Phans!**


	7. Chapter 7

**HI PHANS! I'M NOT DEAD!**

* * *

Danny's POV

Thankfully, I was the only one who wasn't dazed. I was the only one who had been in there own body. I raised my fists and my feet fell into a fighting position. I watched carefully as Sam sat up. I locked eyes with her and she nodded. She helped Rosie to her feet and the smaller halfa looked around before scrambling up beside me, falling into the same position I was in. The child had been trying to hold her tears back but they were still flowing. I didn't blame her. As soon as I had the chance, I would cry too. Sam flicked Tucker in the forehead and he jolted. Sam smacked a hand over his mouth as he tried to cry out. She held a finger to her lips and Tuck nodded as he looked around. He stood up and walked over behind Rosie and me, pulling an ecto-lipstick. Finally, Sam woke Jazz and the older of the two woman woke quickly. She walked over behind the three of us instantly. Sam pulled herself to her feet and walked over to my other side. She pulled out an ecto-staff and readied it.

We all stood in tense silence before people started to sit up and rub their heads. Then they remembered what had just happened. Mr. Lancer looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the five of us at the ready. I pointed behind me with my thumb and he nodded. Paulina fell out of her daze and started crying. That woke everyone else from their stupor. Jack and Maddie yelled a battle cry before jumping to their feet. Pamela and Jeremy edged behind the group ready to attack. Ida rolled over behind us, a soft smile on her face. Dash yanked Paulina to her feet and guided her to the back of the group.

Maddie and Jack were facing the five of us, the rest of the group cowering behind the team. "Leave." I demanded.

Maddie carefully reached down to her belt, grinning when she found that she was armed again. "No." She snarled. "You need to leave my son's corpse and come peacefully Ghost. No deals this time. Your daughter won't get a millimeter of pain killers when we remove her core and study it." My eyes glowed a violent, radioactive green before I launched myself into the air. Twin rings, glowing with a bright white light surrounded me. My cloak was clasped around my shoulders, a new green cloak that I wore because Rosie slept with my old one now. I was wearing almost the same thing I did when they ripped me apart.

Twin balls of glowing ectoplasm winked to life in my fingers, the ectoplasm much hotter than a human could hold in its hand. A small hand touched my foot and I looked down. Rosie had a hard look on her face, trying hard to mask her fear. "Me too Daddy?" She asked softly. I shook my head.

"No My Flower. Stand by Mama." Rosie nodded before snagging Sam's hand.

My eyes blazed as I watched Jack and Maddie ready their weapons at me and Rosie. Maddie had a blaster and Jack had a knife. "You can't hunt us as humans." I said firmly. "Hunting Rosie and me is child abuse. You'll be sent to jail."

Jack flicked an ecto-knife towards me. "And if we reveal your spooky little secret it wouldn't be hunting humans. It would be hunting dangerous ghost hybrids set on taking over the earth." I shook my head.

"You could reveal our secret, but we're still human. We still have human rights. And you would still be sent to jail for ripping me apart." I looked down at the floor and took a breath so I wouldn't blow up with anger. That's when they shot.

I heard the shot fast enough to throw up a shield. Pulsing green energy flew from my hands and in front of the group. "Danielle!" I instructed. "Protect the humans!" A flash of light behind me let me know that Rosie swapped forms. She flew up beside me and I carefully transferred the shield to Rosie's hands.

I flew underneath the shield and turned human. I stepped forwards and slid my hands underneath my shirt. I flipped it off and tears fell from Maddie's eyes. Even if she didn't think I was her son anymore, she still thought that my body belonged to her son. "I would have forgiven you if you hadn't gotten so obsessed. If you hadn't stopped caring about your family. If you hadn't scarred my daughter." I carefully traced the Y scar with my fingers. "If you hadn't marred me like this." I chuckled humorlessly. "My girlfriend can't touch me without finding a scar from that day. The restraints scarred my forearms and legs. You sliced open my chest like an animal. And you thought that you were doing everyone a favor making a child watch that."

"We were protecting our children!" Maddie yelled. I morphed to a lion straight from human form. My white mane contrasted greatly with the silky black fur on the rest of my body. I projected the rest of my rant with my telepathy.

"You lost your parent card when you didn't realize you killed your son. And then you tried to kill me and your granddaughter. Even if you didn't know you were related, she is still a child. You tried to kill children. Now leave before I pounce." Jack's eyes widened and for once, he had the common sense. He grabbed Maddie's arm and pulled her out of the school, ignoring her screaming rant. I waited until the Fenton's were out of the door and into the GAV before turning human.

I had no regard for the fact that my class mates, teacher, and girlfriend's family were in the room. I rushed to Rosie, wrapping my arms around her and picking her up as she lost it. She started sobbing hysterically, just like she did whenever she relived that day in her dreams. This was worse, because she saw the whole thing. Even though her eyes had been closed, she could still see the memory. I saw them too. "Daddy! Don't let them get me! Daddy! Don't Die! Please Daddy! DADDY!" I held her closely and stroked her hair as she sobbed. I carefully sank to the floor, doing what I knew was the only thing I could do to help her. I gently cradled her in my lap as I phased my shirt off. There was a collective gasp that I barely heard at both my scars and my powers. I wasn't really surprised considering that the Y scar wasn't my only reminder from my enemies.

"Rosie." I said firmly, but gently. "Danielle Rose." I needed her to open her eye and take a breath if I was going to calm her down. "Danielle Rose Fenton!" Danielle opened her eyes that she had clenched tight, still sobbing but looking at me now. I set both of her little hands on the top of my scar. "It was in April, Flower. It's November now, a scar and a memory. A scar and a memory baby." Rosie started to carefully trace the raised and puckered skin.

"It hurts." Danielle whimpered. I nodded, holding myself together by pure will power.

"I know My Flower. I know." Rosie wrapped her arms around me carefully and sniffled.

"I'm sorry Daddy. I didn't mean to cry." I took her face in my hands, setting my forehead on my daughter's.

"This is not your fault." I said firmly. "Danielle Rose Fenton, do not ever say that this is your fault. This is Jack and Maddie's fault. This has never been and never will be, your fault. I promise you." Danielle set her head on my shoulder as I held her, pressing a soft kiss on the top of her head. She nestled herself into the crook of my arm as I gestured for Sam to come to Rosie and I. "Can you stand with Mama Flower?" I asked. Rosie nodded and I helped her stand, brushing a hand against her cheek. I carefully stood, pulled on my shirt, and turned to the rest of the group. I had a silent conversation with Jazz. She nodded and grabbed Tucker's hand as she rushed to go grab everyone's things. I made sure that I was standing just slightly in front of Sam and Danielle, just in case things turned sour. Dash spoke first.

"What the fuck Fenton?" I chuckled softly.

"Yeah. But can you try to curb your language? My three year old daughter is right there." Dash's mouth dropped and Paulina burst out giggling. Jeremy and Pamela stared at Sam and Rosie as they digested that they were looking at their daughter's daughter. They started rushing forwards and Danielle squealed as she winked out of viability.

Mr. Lancer gasped. "Little House on the Prairie! Where did she go?" I chuckled softly as I tapped into my ghost sense, locating Danielle. She was hiding in the corner, up on the shelf. I walked in front of the shelf and looked around.

"I'm going to use my powers." I warned. "Nobody panic." I waited a moment and floated upwards, snagging Rosie in my arms. "They're not scientists." I assured her. "Dash and Paulina are in my class, Mama's parents work with toothpicks, you know Mr. Lancer's vice principal, and everyone else is on the list of safe people. You're going to be okay. Mama and I are right here." Rosie carefully glanced at the ground before turning visible and floating back to the ground in my arms. She landed on her feet with a practiced grace. He folded her hands in front of her and gazed at the ground nervously.

"My name is Danielle Rose Fenton/Phantom. I'm the three year old daughter of Daniel Matthew Fenton/Phantom and Samantha Amanda Manson. My Papa who's not really my Papa had a rough patch when Daddy was 14. He made me because he wanted another Daddy because he didn't have any family. I was a mistake. Daddy helped Papa turn his life around when Daddy was fifteen and sixteen years old. When Daddy was 16, Papa told me that I wasn't a clone, but a test tube baby, told me who my parents were, and I came and talked to them. They brought me home that day and I've been living with them for just over a year. You're not going to make me leave home, are you? I have my sugar skulls on my dresser and Mama cleans me up in our headquarters when I get into scraps and Daddy snuggles with me every other night. I don't want to leave." Rosie's voice trembled at the end when she looked over at Pamela and Jeremy.

Sam's parents approached again, much more cautiously this time. She leaned heavily into me as Pamela and Jeremy knelt down in front of us. Pamela held out a hand for Rosie to take. "I'm your Gran Dear, and this is your Granddad." Rosie looked up to me, making sure it was safe again. I nodded and she took Pamela's hand, allowing herself to be wrapped into a gentle hug.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time, 7:30. "We need to find some place where we can talk and grab a bite as soon as Jazz and Tucker get back."

Dash bit his lip. "The Nasty Burger?" He suggested. Sam shook her head absentmindedly as she and I both watched Pamela and Jeremy held Rosie.

"That won't work. We need to wipe Danny's laptop remotely and make sure we have all the files pulled. We can do that at my place and Tucker's." Sam glanced over at me and back to Danielle. "What kind of hungry are you?" She asked curiously. I thought for a second, tapping into my powers before my stomach growled loudly.

"Both, but I can get by with biting my lip for a while. Flower?"

Pamela and Jeremy parted so that we could see Danielle. She turned invisible for a moment before reappearing, doubled over, hands over her stomach. "Both." Sam and I locked eyes and she nodded before holding out her hand for Rosie.

"Come on Baby Girl, We're going home." Mr. Lancer, Paulina, Dash, Jeremy, and Pamela all just stood there as Grandma Ida wheeled behind the two girls.

"Uh," I said nervously, "We're going to help Jazz and Tucker grab stuff. If you're not at the front doors when we get there, Sam's going to try to leave without you." I walked out of the room and jogged up to my girls without waiting for a reaction.

Unsurprisingly, everyone was waiting at the front doors for us. I tossed Dash and Paulina their backpacks wordlessly, still more than a little on edge. I shouldered my bag and fingered my shirt sleeve to make sure that it was still there. Everyone was staring at me, and I didn't blame them, but that didn't mean it made me any more comfortable. Jazz nodded, counting everyone like a mother duck. "Good. Let's walk."

Jeremy and Pamela looked shocked to find that they wouldn't be riding in their limo. Sam rolled her eyes. "We live a block and a half away. It's not going to kill you walk home. Rosie and Danny can fly that in just a couple minutes." Jeremy and Pamela opened their mouths before closing them, figuring it would be better to go along with their daughter's plan than argue for once. They started talking to Mr. Lancer about something that I tuned out.

I smiled softly as I swung Rosie up onto my shoulders. Dash ran for a moment and slid beside me until he was walking at the same pace I was. He cleared his throat as Paulina caught up to him. I wanted to fall back into my circle of safe. I wanted to be surrounded my Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and Rosie. I wanted everyone to take a step back. "So, how long have you-" He trailed off, unable to find the right words. I chuckled.

"How long have I been half dead? Four years." Dash looked down at the ground, and took a deep breath.

"Did I ever reopen any of your war wounds or something like that?"

Unconsciously, a hand snaked to my arm, tracing over some of the reasons that I couldn't wear short sleeves to school anymore. I nodded. "I got hurt a lot in freshman year. Getting crammed into lockers didn't really help my healing powers all too much. That's fine though." Dash started stuttering apologies and I closed my eyes. "Seriously Dash. It's fine. I got over it. You can shut up about it."

Dash's mouth snapped shut and Paulina reached an arm out to set a hand on my shoulder. I flinched. Rosie reached down and removed Paulina's hand gently before I could start to panic. "That's a bad idea." She said softly.

I took in a deep breath. "It's fine Rosie." I said softly. "What is it Paulina?"

The Hispanic girl brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, blushing madly. "I was just wondering if you like your skull. You too Rosie." Rosie started giggling before reaching down and carefully squeezing Paulina's hand.

"I love it. It sits with the ones that my family made. And the one you made for Daddy is in Mama's room with his other skulls." Paulina looked down at the floor, continuing to blush. I think that she was a little embarrassed that I knew perfectly well she had a crush on me for two long years.

We walked in silence until we got to the Manson's Mansion. Sam unlocked the door and walked inside and up the stairs to her room, Tucker right beside her. Grandma Ida rolled over to the elevator and rolled inside, closing the door with her, Lancer, Paulina, Dash, and Jazz in it with her. I held the door open for Jeremy and Pamela, Danielle still on my shoulders. "It's your house." I said softly. "I'll go in last." Pamela shook her head.

"We'd like to talk to you about something we discussed on the way home." I lifted Rosie off of my shoulders and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Go on to Mama's room Flower, She'll meet you there." Danielle nodded and ran up the stairs. Jeremy and Pamela sat down on their front steps and invited me to sit with them. It was an odd sight, seeing the two immaculate adults sitting on the steps. I carefully walked a couple steps down the stairs and sat so that Jeremy and Pamela could see me. I braced myself to be screamed at, to be told that they would call the police on me if I got anywhere near their daughter. "I just want you to know that I really do love Sam." I said softly. Jeremy reached out and lifted my chin so that I was looking at him.

"Daniel, there is no way we would ever doubt that seeing some of the things you and Samantha have gone through." I carefully watched them both, wondering what they were going to say next.

"You don't have a place to stay anymore, do you Daniel?" I shook my head silently as I started tracing the scars underneath my sleeves. Jeremy smiled softly.

"Would you like to stay here Daniel?"

My face must have been incredible, considering Pamela's giggling. I sat there for a moment, with my mouth hanging wide before I remembered that Sam hated that. My mouth closed with an audible click. "Do you really mean that?" I whispered.

Jeremy nodded. "We really mean that Daniel. It's obvious that you're not into anything gang related like we had thought. And a super hero should at least be able to kiss his daughter and girlfriend goodnight." I nodded quickly.

"I'd like that." I said softly.

Pamela smiled softly at me. "I'd assume that you'd climb in with Samantha?"

I flushed a bright pink. "Uh."

Pamela laughed softly. "We saw one of your memories Daniel, and that was back sometime this summer. Rosie said that you kiss her good night every other night. I'd assume that you stay here those nights." I opened my mouth and closed it like a fish. Pamela set a hand on my shoulder and I was still too stunned to flinch. "Go on inside Daniel, I don't doubt that everyone upstairs is just as anxious for answers as we are."

Pamela and Jeremy stepped inside as I sat there stunned for a moment. "What the hell just happened?" I whispered as I walked through the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam's POV

As everyone else took the elevator, Tucker and I walked up the stairs. He smirked and of course, that meant I had to shove him over. He stumbled behind me after that. "Sam? What does Rosie mean by she's both kinds of hungry?"

I smiled. "Human and Ghost Tuck. Danielle and Danny need to feed both sides of their bodies. Vlad supplies me with ghost food every couple of weeks and I keep it in the fridge in my room." Tuck shook his head.

"You do know that to the rest of the world, we sound mad, right?" I smiled evilly.

"Tuck, all the best people are. Now let's go before Rosie starts chewing on her fingers."

Tucker raised his eyebrows as I opened the door to my bedroom. "She starts chewing on her fingers?" He asked incredulously. I nodded with a slight chuckle.

"She's three years old Tucker. Most three year olds chew on their fingers. I'm just glad that she doesn't suck her thumb. She would be teased mercilessly for that." Tucker sighed.

"I love my niece but some days I'm not sure how old I should say she is."

I pulled some veggies and chips out of a chest I kept next to the fridge before snagging the key inside. I opened the fridge and pulled a metal container with a lock. Inside, was the ghost food, and it was kept under lock and key so nobody saw how much it glowed. "I really don't know Tucker. I know I love her, and I know that I wouldn't change how she acts for the world. Because she's my baby. Even with what she's seen, she shines."

Tuck smiled as I started slapping together some ecto-berry and eradiated peanut butter sandwiches. I had tasted a bit of Danny's sandwich once and it was actually pretty good. It had an almost acidic undertone but other than that tasted somewhat normal. "She is pretty wonderful."

Rosie danced into the room and flopped down on my bed. "Gran and Granddad are talking with Daddy. Is it almost dinner time?"

I ruffled up Rosie's hair as I made my way to the window. "Wait until Daddy comes up Flower."

I looked out the window down to my parents and boyfriend sitting on the steps below.

Danny was beet red as he spoke with my parents, more flustered than I had seen him in a while. My parents stepped inside as I heard the elevator ding.

Danny stood there dumbstruck for a moment before rushing inside as everyone filed inside my bedroom.

Rosie groaned as she flopped backwards on my bed, groaning. "Mama! I'm hungry! Daddy's taking forever!" I rolled my eyes as Danielle sighed dramatically.

"Waiting another five minutes isn't going to destabilize you Flower." As she continued her theatrics, I looked over the cluster of humans. Discounting Jazz, Tucker, and Grandma Ida, everyone was standing in a pod in the middle of the room. "You know, you can all sit down. Nobody's going to send you to the Zone for breathing funny."

Paulina made her way over to the floor in front of my couch with Dash and Mr. Lancer sat on the furniture, leaving a space for my parents beside him.

Tucker and Jazz were already lounging on my bed with Rosie. She had stopped her dramatics and was waiting as patiently as a three year old halfa could.

My parents slipped into the room and quietly sat down next to Lancer.

As they settled in Danny opened the door and walked in, rubbing his neck like he did whenever he was nervous. "Erm. Hi." He said slowly. I rolled my eyes and crossed the room to him, handing him a plate.

"We get the floor Handsome. Sit." As we sat down in front of the door, Danielle gave me the puppy dog eyes. I smiled. "Yes Flower, eat."

She darted over to where I had set the plate on my dresser, snatched it up, and flew back to her spot on my bed in thirty seconds flat. I smiled softly and pulled out my phone before dialing a practiced number.

"Hello, this is Pizza Parlor, how may I help you?"

I smirked. "This is Sam Manson, I need a large veggie, a large cheese, two large pepperoni and a medium meat lovers please."

I could hear his shock at how much pizza a Manson was buying. "It'll be there in 45 minutes Ma'am."

"Perfect." I said as I pressed the end call button on my phone and shrugged before answering the silent question. "We'll be here for a while so I figured we'd need normal food too."

Everyone stared at the team for a minute before Jazz groaned.

"I get it. You're all in shock. Imagine my surprise when I found out my baby brother was a super hero. Can somebody at least start a conversation on the subject instead of staring at us? Gosh, I thought that most of us were adults here.

Danny smiled his signature, troublemaker grin as he wiped some jelly off of his face. Just by the smile I could tell, he was going to do something to intentionally tick somebody off. "So. I'm dead."

And that's how you make me start to rant. I smacked a head to my forehead in annoyance. "I thought that we covered that last month! You aren't dead. I hate saying you're dead. You're a halfa, an Ecto-American, a hybrid anything but dead. You aren't dead. You still breathe. You still generate cells. You still sleep. You can obviously have kids because look at Rosie. You still eat. You're still you and you're not dead. So you're not going to say you're dead again, especially because it makes me feel wrong and weird and I hate it. You aren't dead!"

Tuck stuck his tongue out at me with a grin. "You just hate thinking of yourself as a necrophiliac." My eyes grew wide as my face turned pink. I glared at Tucker with such intensity, it was a surprise his beret didn't start on fire.

"I know where you live and I will kill you while you're sleeping. Then I'll find your ghost and kill you again for good measure."

Mr. Lancer made an undignified sound somewhere between a grunt and a squeak. "Romeo and Juliet! How can you joke about a thing like this? Doesn't it drive you mad?"

Rosie smiled sadly as she set her empty plate on my bedside table. "That's just it. It keeps us sane. What do you think would happen if we ever sat down seriously and didn't joke about our lives? Truthfully, our lives suck and if we didn't joke about it, there would be no more us. We would go insane. No more super heroes. I'm three years old and I've gotten to act like a kid maybe a total of twenty times in three years. I really want that, and I mean I really want that, but there are more important things." Danielle glanced down at her feet in shame. "Maybe, if I hadn't been so focused on being a kid, things would have been different."

Even though I didn't have a telepathy link with her like I did her father, I could tell what Rosie was thinking about. Danny and I simultaneously got up from our spots on the floor and climbed over on my bed. Tucker and Jazz slid off of the bed and down only the floor so we could sit with Danielle. I picked my daughter up and set her on my lap, expecting Danny to sit beside us. Instead, he picked us up and set us on his lap so he was holding both of us. "No Flower. Just no. It's not your fault."

I pressed a kiss on Rosie's forehead and held her tightly. "You should get to be a kid. You swinging on the swing set at the park didn't make Jack and Maddie take you. It wasn't your fault. I promise."

Danielle sat there for a moment, enjoying the simple fact that she had parents who loved her, parents who held her and told her it was okay. The simple fact she wasn't alone.

Paulina carefully raised her hand. "How come you guys kept this all a secret?" She asked slowly. "You could have had everything a teen could ever want. You could have told your parents before they got obsessed with destroying you, you could have been popular, had money, good grades, anything you could have thought of would have been yours."

I could feel Danny stiffen as he slid out from under Rosie and me. "I'll be back in a minute." He said sharply.

Paulina looked over at me remorsefully. "What did I say?" She asked remorsefully. I bit my lip.

"It's just a touchy subject for Danny." I whispered before the room fell silent.

Danny walked back in moments later in only a pair of red basketball shorts from his bin of spare clothing in my bathroom for when he stayed over or bled all over his clothes.

Even though he was wearing a pair of shorts that fell down to his knees, Danny was more exposed than he ever was at school. That didn't bother me. I had learned to treasure the scars as reminders that Danny was a survivor. That, and the fact that Danny was nicely toned. Rosie, Tuck, and I were the only people that weren't bothered by the scars. We saw them so often they weren't a shock anymore. Everyone else cringed as they stared at the marks.

Around the middle of each of Danny's calves, ten flaming Fenton logos about an inch in size were burned into his skin, yet another souvenir from that day that the Fenton's captured him.

The same flaming marks circled his forearms, the reason that Danny didn't wear short sleeves anymore. The Y on his chest screamed for attention. After being inflicted by tools that were doused in ghost poison so he couldn't faze through them, a long, painful infection, and having the wound reopen a good twenty times, the scar was gruesome.

Even though everyone in the room saw a couple of the scars happen, and saw them briefly during Danny's fight against Jack and Maddie, they hadn't gotten to look at them like this.

There were other scars too, a hazard of being a super hero. A lucky slash Skulker got in during a fight last month. Peppery looking dots from Undergrowth's thorns. A nasty splotch on his shoulder from when Vortex learned that he could control fire.

A large slash wrapped around his left leg, barely missing the wrap of flaming Fenton logos. I eyed that one distastefully before taking a breath. It wasn't the scar itself that bothered me, but the fact that Valarie had a new supplier that wasn't Vlad. An anti-ecto ghost whip was her new favorite weapon as shown by the slash on his leg.

Most of the smaller marks on his body were from the GIW, smaller but no less painful. Bullets laced with Blood Blossom nectar were cruel and inhumane.

Danny lifted his bangs, the ones that fell over his right eye. My parents threw a fit over them every other Tuesday but Danny hated them too. They were only the because of the scar underneath. Just after his chest started to heal, he was stupid enough to go and fight. In return, Technus swiped his eye on the diagonal. Thanks to Danny's healing powers, his eyes was fine, but he was left with the scar.

Danny dropped his bangs and climbed onto my bed. "That's why." Danny whispered as Rosie climbed onto his lap, comforting them and hiding some of Danny's scars. "Most of them would have happened but I don't wouldn't have gotten all my good things too. Plasmius probably wouldn't have made Danielle Rose, as he probably would have conned me into thinking he was a friend my parents convinced to help me. I never would have been able to tell Sam how I felt, especially because there would have been people around when I did tell her I loved her. As for my parents, they might have accepted me for a while, but we all know that they're scientists first. It still would have happened. But I wouldn't have my lights to get me through. More people would be in danger anyways. The more people who know, the more people are used in hostage situations. I don't want a bunch of people to know."

"Then why, Mr. Fenton, did you tell anyone?" Mr. Lancer asked as the doorbell rang.

"Hold that thought." I commanded as a grabbed my wallet. "Dash, come and help me carry the food." I pressed a quick kiss on Danny's lips and another on Rosie's forehead as I walked out of the room.

"Hey Manson!" Dash called out as he followed me down the stairs. "Why'd you have me come help you?"

I took a deep breath as I pinched the bridge of my nose. I was exhausted and I wanted to go to bed. Preferably snuggling with Danny.

"The rest of the team's just as exhausted as I am from three ghosts today, totaling ten fights. My parents would pester me about dating somebody who walks the fine line between the dimensions of the living and the dead. Paulina would try to start asking me about my relationship with Danny and Mr. Lancer would start to lecture me about how I parent my daughter. I was hoping that you would question me the least because I'm just as tired as everyone else but I need to pay for the pizza."

I stopped at the doorway, opened the door, and paid the teen that passed the pizza over to Dash. He was my normal pizza boy, Tyler. We were also in some of the same classes together at Casper. As soon as his arms were free he squeezed my shoulder. "Rough day Sam?" He asked in concern. I chuckled softly.

"You have no idea Ty." He smiled at me.

"I'm sorry about that, at least enjoy your pizza." I slipped a ten dollar bill into his hand.

"We will. See you on Monday."

"Will do Sam."

I took the top two pizzas and started up the stairs. "Manson?" Dash asked again, a bit nervously. I turned around to look at the taller boy.

"Yes Dash?" I asked as I shifted the boxes I was holding.

"I really am sorry. For how I acted." I stood there for a moment before speaking.

"I know you're really sorry but I'm not just going to get all buddy-buddy with you. I can't. I have too much that I have to focus on to risk somebody spilling my secrets or turning and stabbing me in the back. Drop the bullying and after a while we can try to be friends."

I went the rest of the way back to my room in silence, not another word to Dash.

I kicked the door to my room a few minutes later, waiting for somebody to open it for me. While I don't doubt that somebody tried to open the door first, Rosie used her powers freely in my room and could fly past a hundred miles an hour. She opened the door and grinned as she breathed in the greasy, cheesy aroma of pizza. "Mmh. Food."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Says the girl who just scarfed down an Ecto-Berry and Eradiated Peanut Butter sandwich."

Danielle tossed her arms in the air as Dash and I walked into the room. "Half of me ate a sandwich! The other half of me still needs food!"

I pointed over to my bed where Danny was sitting and chuckling at the two of us. "You. Sit. Now Danielle Rose."

The girl didn't sulk, only hopped over to the bed and pillowed her head on her father's lap.

On my way back to my bed, I set the Meat Lover's in front of Tucker. He grinned broadly as he opened the box. "You're the best friend/almost sister ever Sam!" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm amazing. I know. Dash, those are fair game. Set those down in the middle. They're fair game. Paper plates are in the chest by the fridge." I sat down next to Danny and set the pizza in front of us. "It's veggie. For the three of us." Danny smiled softly.

"Thank you, for caring. I'm going to go grab a shirt." There was a rush of wind and Rosie smiled at us, her hair still settling and a long sleeve shirt in her hands.

"Ta-da." She said as she dropped the shirt in Danny's lap before picking up a piece of pizza with her bare hands. I shook my head with a grin as I leaned into Danny's shoulder and picked up my pizza.

After about ten minutes, everyone was settled. "So." My dad said as he cleared his throat eyeing Danny again. "Why did you tell anyone?"

Danny shrugged. "Never did. Sam and Tuck were there like you saw, Jazz snooped around when a ghost infiltrated our school as a therapist, Rosie's known since she was created because her creator knew and her creator knew because he saw me pass out and revert human after our fight. All the ghosts know anyways, common knowledge of the dead I guess. Somebody said it to their friend and now the whole Zone knows."

Paulina carefully folded her hands and set them in her lap, ignoring her pizza for a moment. "Why didn't you stop us from hurting you guys and Rosie?"


	9. Chapter 9

Tucker's POV

Paulina looked close to tears as she sat there on the floor waiting to be chewed out and tossed out the door. Jazz squeezed my hand before getting up. She walked over to where the girl was sitting and held out a hand for the woman.

"Come on Girl, get up." Jazz said soothingly.

Paulina glanced up at jazz's beautiful aqua eyes before sighing and rising to her feet. Her arms were wrapped around her midsection like a shield, but she was standing. Jazz took it as a victory.

Jazz started to do what she loved, therapy. I watched her with fond eyes for a moment before I head a shallow gasp leave Sam's lips. It was so small that most people wouldn't have given it a second thought, but I was on Team Phantom. The small things were important.

I jumped and my head whipped around to check if she was alright. She was. Sam was glowing a pale lilac as her eyes slipped closed for a moment before opening and glowing blue. Just as Sam's eyes were glowing blue, Danny's were emitting a purple light. They were using their telepathic link. It was a reasonably new power of Danny's one that would have been very helpful when Jack and Maddie snagged the Phantoms. Danny and Sam were always able to talk, to make some sort of contact.

They used the power very, very often. Sometimes it was simply to tell the other they would be late back to Sam's place, the place that all of us had started referring to as home. Other times it would be an SOS, an 'I need backup right now!' signal. Whatever they used it for, it was useful.

They could both initiate the link now, something that was a gift when Rosie and Danny had panic attacks as often as they did.

Sam's face washed through emotions with a fluid grace swiftly moving from content to surprised, and then to very happy in a matter of moments. She gently squeezed the had she had been holding and let go, a soft smile of her lips as she watched Danny walk forwards.

Danny gently forced a very surprised Jasmine Fenton away from her student. The red head turned to me as she sputtered. Her surprised snapped off as soon as she saw that both Sam and I had our pointer fingers to our lips, the universal sign to shut up. Jazz quickly moved back to her spot on the floor beside me, a hand slipping into mine as she observed her brother.

Danny swapped to the form Paulina was more used to, his uniformed alter-ego. Paulina's eyes were downcast, her entire head dipped down in shame. Danny lifted her chin up with his gloved fingers.

Jazz drew in a shallow breath as she saw her brother initiate contact with a person that wasn't part of his trusted team for the first time in months.

Paulina's eyes shone with unshed tears as Danny wrapped her in an awkward hug. His movements were stiff, robotic even, but he was still showing her that he didn't resent her, that he didn't blame her for any of his issues. The tears started silently streaming down her face as Paulina, even with her little knowledge of what had happened to Danny, realized how huge this was.

Danny quickly released about five seconds later. Fisting his hands at his sides not because he was mad, but because there was too much contact for him.

"You aren't the people that hurt us, not really. You were just kids. Kids like we were supposed to be. Kids are supposed to have people that sting sometimes so that they become stronger. You and Dash made us stronger. Don't ever forget that Paulina Sanchez. You're not a villain. In your own way, you're a hero."

Danny took a good three steps backwards before coming to the conclusion that he was frozen. "I'll be right back." He said in a stiff robotic tone.

The ghost boy ran from the room, running through the door and hiding as he did when he got overwhelmed by touch. Sam looked up and me with a pleading look in her eyes. Rosie had fallen asleep in her lap, exhausted after the day of school. Sam didn't want to move. She wanted to sit and hold her daughter. She wanted to make sure when Rosie started awake when somebody make a loud noise she would be there to comfort her. I understood that.

I climbed up from my place on the floor and sighed. "I'll be right back." Paulina opened her mouth but I cut her off. "No Paulina, you didn't do anything wrong. Just chill."

I quickly exited the room, my fingers drumming on my phone. It was something I did to comfort myself. Without my phone, I didn't have any way to contact the rest of the team. Without contact, we may as well be dead.

I turned around the corner to the next hall on the floor Sam's parents had basically given to her. The first door on the room was the room that we had basically turned into the new Team Phantom headquarters.

I turned the knob slowly and went inside. It was a nice room, I had to admit.

The floors were hardwood, a perk considering that this was the place that we had taken Danny and Rosie to after Jack and Maddie tore Danny apart. The walls were an acid green and all of the furniture was black. The computer desk in the far corner of the room was black, with a silver computer on it that rivaled my own. The desk chair too, was black.

The sectional on the same wall as the door, in the corner to my right, was black pleather. Pleather because it wasn't an animal product, but it was still really easy to clean. The sectional was big, big enough that realistically, you could fit nine people on it.

Diagonally from the sectional, and right in front of me, was the work out area. A black sparring mat was on the floor, just enough padding so that when Danny let Rosie throw him down, it wouldn't hurt. The only place he couldn't feel pain was on his chest. His nerves on his chest had been destroyed. Other than that he had made an almost full physical recovery. Physical, not mental.

When Danny panicked like this, he needed a release. He had a couple different things that he did. Most of the time, he came and beat the snot out of his punching bag. The bag was white and a good 200 pounds. When Danny hit it, the bag swung like it was five pounds. There were other bags too, the seventy pound one that Rosie used and the fifty pound one that Sam and I used.

When I came into the room, Danny jumped, shoving his bleeding hands into his pockets. "Hey." He said softly.

I flopped down on the sectional. "Hey man."

Danny stood there awkwardly for a few moments before I chuckled. "I just came to check on you. Don't stop on account of me."

Danny cracked a smiled as he walked back to the mat. Drops of red and green blood swirled down from his hands and I frowned. "Wait." I interrupted as Danny raised his fists.

"What's wrong? He asked, obviously anxious to get back to beating the bag up.

"Dude, you're messing your hands up." Danny stood there as I snagged the hand wrappings from the drawer in the desk. I wrapped his hands with a practiced ease before glaring at him. "Your nerves are only messed up in your chest. If you don't wrap your hands you will get hurt and you will feel it. Your bones may be stronger than a humans but you're not invincible. You're a Phantom, not the Hulk."

Danny sent me a thankful look before turning back to the bag. He slammed on the vinyl cylinder for another ten minutes before plopping down on the ground, breathing heavily. "Why did you come?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Rosie fell asleep on Sam's lap so I came. Not a big deal Dude, either Sam, Jazz, or I always checks up on you after you get stuck like this. It's just how we roll."

Danny put his head in his hands. "That's not what I mean. I mean why do you always come? Why do the three of you and Rosie always come and save me when I get myself into hug messes. You don't need to, you just do. Why?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "It's because we're family Dude. The five of us are just family. You're my best friend, Sam literally loves you, and Jazz is your big sister. We stay because we care. We're in it for the long run Danny. Just like you."

Danny smiled. "Thanks, I-"

"Needed that," I finished. "It's cool, we all do sometimes. Let's just head back to Sam's room though. Who knows what kind of wacko story she's telling everyone."

Danny stood up and walked over holding out a hand to pull me up off of the couch. "You just don't want her saying anything about your forbidden love for my sister." He said with a chuckle.

I glared at him. "It's only forbidden until next year Danny!"

The halfa rolled his eyes. "I'm well aware Tucker. Just remember I'll kick your ass if you hurt her."

"Yeah, Yeah. Put a sock in it."

We joked like that the whole way back to Sam's room and by the time we were in the door Danny was as normal as he ever gets. The door opened and I could see Danny brace himself for an earsplitting silence when he opened the door.

There wasn't one.

The girls had taken it upon themselves to fill the space and had started telling stories. Sam and Jazz smiled over at us and I didn't need telepathy to know what they were saying to Danny through their expressions.

We've got your back.

Danny grinned and walked over to Sam's bed again. She very carefully transferred their sleeping daughter to Danny's lap and he started to smooth her hair.

"And that's how I found out the spooky little secret." Jazz finished.

Danny rolled his eyes. "They just found out the biggest secret in Amity Park and you told them the story of how you poked your head out an alley? Really Fink?"

Jazz burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh, I haven't heard you call me Fink in years! Why'd you start again?"

Danny smugly folded his arms over his chest. "It's because I'm fantastic. Not only can I call you Fink but I can also tell better stories than you with my eyes closed."

Jazz got that glint in her eyes, the glint that let you know just how smart she was. She didn't have to flat out force you to do what she wanted. She could have you do it by a simple trick of words. She could look at Danny and say exactly what needed to be said to him to get him to stop something else. She was that skilled. "Prove it to me then." She taunted, hands on her hips in a childish stance made to make you look bigger.

Danny stuck his tongue out at Jazz before closing his eyes. "Who wants to hear about the time Sam turned into the Plant Queen?" He asked smugly.

The guests (and Sam's parents) chorused out for Danny to start. The grin slipped from his face as he fell into memory. "Sam, Tucker, and I were fourteen years old when it happened and even though it was 75 degrees out, I was bundled up like it was the middle of January…"

As Danny started telling his story Jazz leaned into me a little more, it's not like her entire body weight was pressed against mine, but it was still enough to make me blush. "You did that on purpose." I whispered in her ear as Jazz picked up a piece of pizza from her plate.

A small smile fell to Jazz's face. "Yeah, I did. He needed a distraction."

I wanted to brush a kiss against Jazz's forehead but held myself back. "You're fantastic Jazz, I'm just saying."

Jazz shrugged. "I'm not doing anything special. I'm just being myself."

I picked up Jazz's face and made sure that she was looking at me. "And that's what's so wonderful." I told her.

She smiled almost blissfully as she took another bite of pizza. Hurt still traced behind her eyes, an agonizing sting that you couldn't see her hiding unless you knew her pretty well. "What's on your mind?" I asked softly.

Jazz bit her lip. "I don't have a place to stay tonight." She whispered. "I was staying at Fenton Works to protect Danny. That means now that my folks know that I'm on Danny's side, I'm not going to be able to go back. They won't let me in."

"You could stay with me?" I offered with a small laugh. Jazz joined in as she glanced over at Danny and Sam. He still had his eyes closed and was waving his hands as he animatedly told the story only he knew.

"Tuck, you've been renting from Sam since your parents moved to Chicago. You're just down the hall from this room. There's no way that any of the adults in the room would let us do that. I'm supposed to be an adult and somehow I'm talking with you about it." Jazz shook her head. "It's not going to happen."

"That doesn't mean you don't want it to, right?" I asked almost shyly. Jazz grinned brightly.

"Not a chance."

I smiled as Danny made his final side effects for his story. He turned to Jazz and I, "I would tell you to top that but you were too busy talking to Lover Boy so you didn't even hear."

I flushed as Jazz chucked a fork at her brother. He caught it easily with one hand, setting it down in the vegetarian pizza box. He glanced at the inside and sighed. "There's no more." He said sadly, looking liked a sad puppy with how he was sitting finding out he was out of food.

Paulina slid the pepperoni box over to him. "We're out of cheese but there's still this."

Danny looked down at the box warily, almost as if he was of the opinion the box would bite him. "No thanks." He mumbled as he pushed the box away with a strand of ectoplasm. "I'm not a pepperoni person."

Dash tilted his head like a confused puppy. "Why aren't you a pepperoni person?" He asked.

Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Seriously?" He asked with a humorless laugh. "Because after I was ripped apart Danielle and I dropped meat. I dropped it because it made me sick to know that I could have been processed and preserved like an animal and Rosie stopped because she saw me being ripped apart and I looked like a torn up animal."

There was a sharp intake of breath as everyone stared at Danny. I stood up and stomped my foot on the ground. My shoes made a heavy clunking sound that made almost everyone jump. "Alright." I said sharply, "Danny's too nice to tell you what's bothering him so most of the time Sam, Jazz or I does it. So now I'm going to tell you to screw your heads on straight, get a grip, and stop treating Danny like he's a piece of broken glass. Danny's a survivor. He's also not human anymore. That doesn't mean he doesn't have emotions. Everyone with emotions knows that it feels weird to be stared at so quit it. We're always in some kind of war, some kind of fight. That means that you either need to get on the train and help us out or you walk out of this house right now and you pretend that the last few hours never happened. Make a damn choice."

There was a moment of silence as the four of us, Sam, Danny, Jazz, and I, looked around the room and waited for somebody to leave.

Nobody did.

I grinned and pulled my phone out of my pocket. 9:37. "Cool. Does anybody have work tomorrow?"

I looked around the room and found both Danny and Sam with their hands up. "Skulk and Lurk at 10:00 for me." Sam said with a shrug, even though I already knew. She was probably only saying it because she was tired.

Pamela and Jeremy's mouths were on the floor as the stared at the couple. "You getting a job at the Skulk and Lurk doesn't surprise me," Pamela said, "but how did you find time for a job Daniel?"

Danny shrugged. "My mentor deals with Axion Labs pretty often," he said slowly, "He was able to grab me a job and I have friends in the Zone who guard the portal so I can work. There's this ghost couple, Johnny 13 and Kitty. Kitty's fallen in love with Rosie and Johnny's pretty fond of her too so they guard the portal on most days. On other days Ember watches the doorway for me."

Paulina's jaw dropped to the ground. "You know Ember? Ember McLain? And she's dead?" She asked incredulously.

Danny nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, and believe it or not she's family. Maddie's maiden name is McLain. Amber was my older sister. My parents had her while they were in college so she had Maddie's name. She was seven when she died. She always wanted to be a Rock Star, so much that she tried to make her own stage effects. But when you're seven, and you see fake fire on the Television, you start a fire and try to dance in it. Jack and Maddie were wrapped up in their research and didn't notice the fire until she was already gone."

Jazz shivered beside me. "I can remember her, not much, but some. She was so pretty. Bright blue eyes like Dad's and Mom's bright red hair." The woman wiped tears from her eyes and I wrapped my arm around her waist. "They blotted her out of our family history. All of her pictures are hidden in one box in the attic. We moved from the town in Wisconsin where we lived to Amity the month after she died. That's why Ember wants to be remembered. Because she was forgotten."

Paulina cast her eyes downwards. "H-how is she 19?" She asked in a small voice. "She's looked 19 for years, I just realized."

Danny closed his eyes. "Sometimes, when ghosts don't know that they've died, they stimulate growth. They try to function like humans on their own in the Ghost Zone. I think that's what happened to Amber. She can't remember very much yet, but as a halfa I can jog her memories. I can help her remember life."

"Then won't she just fade into nothing?" Lancer asked with a genuine interest.

I shook my head. "The ghost zone doesn't work that way. As morbid as it is, it's the underworld. Sometimes, when ghosts can't remember who they are, they make new identities. Not all ghosts even have obsessions. It's just the last step in the cycle. There's logic to the Zone. Take the way things look. There are certain features that flop. Like how black hair becomes white. Light blue eyes become green. Dark blue eyes become red. Red hair turns blue. Things like that. Eyes also turn red when you're under mind control but that's the exception to the rule."

There wasn't even a spare second of silence before another question.

"Who's your mentor?" Jeremy asked Danny curiously.

Danny rubbed his neck nervously. "Well, that's a hard question."

* * *

**Erm. Hi. I'm trying to type at the speed of light because I'm just about at my computer limit for the day. Revolution is on hiatus because my only inspiration is for this and shorts. Dammit.**

**I just started school (like most other Phans in the US) so updates will probably be a bit slower. Not a month like the last update but hopefully soonish.**

**I've gotta go post this so yeah. Later Phans.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Erm. Yeah. Chapter. GO!**

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Danny's POV

I sat there for what must have been a full minute debated what to do. Finally, I sighed, caving in my own mental battle. "Screw it." I said before pulling out my phone. I pressed speed dial number three and placed the phone to my ear. Three, two, one, and…

"Evening Little Badger," Vlad said pleasantly.

"Hey Fruit Loop." I replied without missing a beat. "We've got a situation."

All of the amusement in Vlad's voice faded away as he sighed. "I can't tell you what to do unless you tell me what's happened Daniel."

I started railing off what had happened from afternoon to evening, starting with the fight with the animated instruments. Saying Vlad sounded concerned was an understatement.

"Well are you alright? Did you have any PTSD attacks? How's Danielle? Is she panicking? Do you need a place to stay? What do you need me to do? Tell me what you need Daniel for the Love of Cheese!"

I shook my head. "I would if you let me get a word in. I'm not strapped down to anymore examination tables so it's alright to say I'm fine. I don't need a place to say, Sam's folks already offered." As I said this Sam gasped from beside me and turned to her parents.

"No way." She breathed.

Her mother put a finger to her lips with a soft smile. "Hush up Samantha, it's not polite to talk when others are on the phone."

"Anyways, Rosie's asleep and I'm wondering about what to say about you, because people have questions about my mysterious ghost mentor."

Vlad sucked in a quick breath. "You didn't say I was a halfa, just a ghost. How much do you trust these people Daniel?"

I bit my lip. "Enough that I was going to take them to the Headquarters as soon as I carried Rosie to her room."

The billionaire clicked his tongue before speaking. "I'll be there in a minute and a half. I'd take it you're in Samantha's room, correct?"

I was thoroughly stunned. "Yeah but don't do that? You're not usually an idiot. Don't blow it because Desiree ruined it for me."

I could almost hear Vlad roll his eyes. "I'm already half way across town Daniel, close the phone."

"Don't be stupid!" I yelled as I heard the dial tone. "Dammit." I mumbled.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "I'd take it that he's on his way?" She deadpanned. I nodded sharply before pressing a kiss on Danielle's head.

Tucker chuckled. "Well, that'll be interesting. With the six of us together things are always more than a little strange." I glared at the geek as the room chilled. I couldn't help but smile as Vlad floated through the wall and landed on the ground, completely visible the whole time. Pamela, Paulina, and Lancer all squealed in surprise as Vlad landed. Rosie woke up, screaming. She was on the verge of a wail as I pulled her to my chest.

"Shh. You're alright. You're at home. You're safe."

"The monsters! They-they cut you open! I-I-I couldn't get to you. A-a-and I couldn't get to Mama! Don't let them get me! Daddy! The orange and blue! The orange and blue! Make it stop! Please! I can't!"

Rosie sobbed against my chest and I held her tightly. Vlad walked over as Rosie started to whisper over and over "I can't." I rocked the girl back and forth as Vlad sat down on my free side.

"Shh. Look baby, we're in Mama's room. We're at home. And look who came over for a visit Rosie."

Rosie carefully lifted her head from my chest, scared that she was still dreaming. She smiled softly. "Papa!"

She reached for Vlad and I handed her over, freshman year a long way behind me. Vlad set Danielle on his lap and she started playing with his now pitch black facial hair. Only when Rosie was content did Vlad look over at the rest of the stunned group. "Hello, the name's Plasmius, Vlad Plasmius."

Jaws fell to the floor at how casual this interaction was and I couldn't help but snicker. Suddenly, Paulina's mouth clicked closed.

"You're a ghost like Danny and Rosie, aren't you? Sam said Danny was a halfa. You are too."

Vlad looked at the young woman more carefully than he had when he first came in. "You're very perceptive girl. My human name is Vlad Masters."

Vlad transformed back into human form, revealing the fact that he was clad in a pair of Green Bay Packers Pajama pants and a green button up shirt.

Sam and I both burst into giggles. "You can't even wear normal pajamas-"

"-Or even a tee shirt!" Sam finished for me. Danielle turned around to watch Sam and I laugh our asses off about something that really wasn't that funny. We were just really flipping done. Just done. There was no more sanity.

Vlad sighed, knowing that when we got hysterical and our link wasn't being purposefully blocked there were very few things that could snap us out of it. "Daniel, Samantha, I'm going to go put Danielle to bed."

Rosie climbed up and gave us each a solid squeeze before we kissed her once each on the cheek. She then kissed our cheeks and climbed off of the bed. "G'night Daddy. G'night Mama."

"Night Rosie," We managed to call out in unison, our link preventing us from saying anything without the other saying the same.

Vlad walked hand and hand with Rosie to the youngest of the halfa's pink and green bedroom. My cat senses could pick up the small sounds that were being made. The sound of feet scuffling against the floor, Rosie climbing into bed, and her sweet "G'night Papa," as Vlad left the room.

Sam and I were still laughing when Vlad came back in. He sighed before picking us up like we weighed no more than rag dolls. "Come with me, I know how to snap them out of it."

Vlad walked down the hall with Tucker and Jazz right behind him. Everyone else was a bit more cautious in following the eldest halfa.

Jazz opened the door to the headquarters and Vlad walked through. Tucker then had to usher everyone else in, assuring them that it was safe.

Vlad set me down on the sparring mat and set Sam on the sectional. I was coherent now, but I still couldn't stop laughing. I could tell Sam was in the same boat.

"Dammit. Make it stop for the sake of the realms Vlad!" I gasped out through my laughter.

Vlad looked at me carefully. "Try not to panic Daniel." He said soothingly before phasing off my shirt and firmly pressing is fingers over the harsh Y on my chest. Ectoplasm sparked from his fingers and onto my chest. Sam and I both stopped laughing abruptly and I clutched my chest.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" I gasped out. "It still hurts. Please Vlad, just move your hands." He kept his hands there for a fraction of a moment before removing them. Sam bolted up from her place on the ground and was next to me in seconds. "It hurts." I whispered, part of me marveling at the fact that I could feel pain in my chest again. My nerves were shot. The only time I could feel physical pain in them was when Vlad sparked the nerves to start and when I was in my ghost form.

The five humans who hadn't been part of the group stood there staring at me awkwardly. I rolled my eyes. "You know that there's enough seats for everyone now. Sit down." They stood there for a moment before Dash shook his head.

"Screw it." He mumbled before walking over and flopping down beside Jazz and Tuck on the sectional. Paulina walked over to join him, admittedly more quietly than her friend. I actually had to push Mr. Lancer and Sam's parents over to the couch for them to sit.

I turned around and grabbed my elastic wraps from the desk. I wrapped my hands quickly before Jazz slapped me on the back of the head. I jumped and lifted my fists to protect myself before realizing that it was just my sister. "Yes?" I asked slowly.

She set her hands on her hips. "Hours of sleep last night Daniel Matthew Fenton/Phantom?" She demanded in the tone I had always thought of as her mom voice even though she was my older sister.

My eyes found the floor. "Four hours." I said softly. Jazz narrowed her eyes.

"At a time?" She demanded. I shook my head.

"Total."

My hand wrappings were ripped off as Jazz pointed at the couch with her free hand. "Sit your ass down." She commanded.

I plopped down on the couch beside Dash and Sam sat down on my other side. Jazz then sat down beside Tucker on the other end of the couch. Vlad took the ataman and tried to sit alone before Jazz got up and sat down beside him. He tried to move away and Jazz snagged his arm.

"I have a Maximus in my pocket so I recommend sitting down." She instructed tensely. Vlad sat down.

We sat there silently for a couple of minutes before I broke the silence. "Well now that you know the gist of it, what are we going to do?" I sat up a little straighter and eyed every one of the newcomers. "Are you guys just going to pretend that today never happened or are you going to become part of the team? Either way things aren't going to be the same. There's no point pretending. I'm too tired to sugar coat anything right now."

Dash cleared his throat. "What do you want me to do?" he asked quietly.

I smiled as I got up and walked over to the desk. Just behind where the monitor sat was a button. I pressed it. The wall beside the sectional flipped up and revealed a weapons wall.

I pulled out a thermos and ecto-pistol. I tossed the thermos to Dash and handed the gun over more carefully. "These are your new favorite objects. You see me fighting a ghost without a thermos, you toss me the thermos. You see a ghost terrorizing people when I'm not there, you tell them to leave peacefully. Give them to the count of ten and if they're still causing trouble then use force."

I pulled a couple more sets out of the wall and looked around. "Any more takers?"

Paulina, Lancer, and Jeremy all raised their hands, Pamela simply got a thermos. I nodded with drooping eyes at the newest members of the group. "Good. Now what's the time Tucker?"

He pulled out his smartphone and sighed. "Quarter to eleven. Time to go to bed before something wakes us up."

I looked over at Lancer, Dash, and Paulina. "Come on." I sighed. "I'll fly you home."

Sam lifted my hand in the air and watched it shake. "No." She said firmly. I set my hands on my hips.

"Yes. It's almost eleven. Skulker loves to patrol the streets this time of night looking for me. If He senses my signature on them he will take them and make arrangement for me to get them back later. I'm flying them home."

"You've been up since four am! There is no way in the realms that you are flying three people around town in the dead of night!"

Somebody cleared their throat and Sam and I whipped around.

"What!" We demanded in unison before realizing that it was Vlad getting out attention.

"I'm flying home." He reminded us. "I'll take them to their respective residences." I blushed.

"Oh, alright." I said, a little flustered.

Suddenly, there were arms around me, arms that weren't on the list. I closed my eyes and tensed. One, Two, Three, four. The arms let go. I was alright.

"Thank you." Paulina said with damp eyes. "Thank all of you, for saving us as often as you do. I only hope I can help." She ran out the door and Dash shook his head.

"She's going to head outside without somebody. Just, call me if you need anything at all. I'll see you on Monday if nothing huge happens." Dash looked like he wanted some kind of physical contact, but held himself back and walked out the door.

Lancer pulled Sam, Tucker and I over to the corner of the room by the computer. "What's the definition of a Colloid?" He asked suddenly.

"A mixture of medium sized particles between larger and smaller ones that don't separate. Thinks like milk. You can't break them apart." Tucker said in confusion.

Lancer nodded. "Good. Miss Manson, what did you get from Romeo and Juliet?"

"That love is blind. That there are many types of love but love doesn't lead to happily ever after. It shows that young hearts usually change their minds often and if you aren't positive about things you shouldn't make a decision that will change the rest of your life." She said with a hint of irritation. Sam hated that play. There were others that she thought were much better than Romeo and Juliet much like she's ranted on about her favorite play, Les Misarables. She liked the darker romances. Not the stupid teenagers who kill at first thought that there lovers are gone.

Lancer nodded yet again. "A Heat engine operates with reservoir temperature between 900 K and 500 K. What's its efficiency Daniel?"

I closed my eyes for a brief second. This was kid stuff. I loved physics and science. If I had the time to complete the work I'd be flying through school in more ways than just the one. "They efficacy's 46 percent." I said easily. Lancer looked impressed.

"You three just don't have time to finish your work, do you? You understand it but can't get it in?" We nodded in unison.

Lancer made sure we were all looking him in the eyes. "We'll make it work. You three will graduate with the grades you deserve. Do you hear me?" We nodded and my eyes slipped closed. Lancer sighed. "I'll see you three on Monday." He said as he left the room. Now it was the four of us left with Pamela and Jeremy. I swallowed thickly as Sam whipped around to face her parents.

"They get to stay?" She asked incredulously. Jeremy sighed with a tired smile.

"Well, we figured you and Daniel would bunk together and Rosie already has a bedroom here. Tucker's been living here with our consent for a while. And Jasmine can stay the night and until she's able to find herself a place, how does that sound?"

Sam made a very uncharacteristic squeal before hugging her parents. She pulled me out of the room as I mouthed thank you to her parents.

Ten minutes later we were all laying in Sam's room. Jazz was on the couch. Tucker was on the floor, having pulled his mattress into the room for the night, and Sam and I were on the bed.

"We all ready for some sleep?" Tuck asked in his zombie state. The three of us all called out that yes, we were ready for bed. "Good. And don't give me grounds to call you a necrophiliac Sam. I want to sleep tonight."

Sam groaned. "I'll kill you in the morning." She declared before snuggling into me more closely, enjoying that I was still fairly warm in my human body. I chuckled softy as my eyes slipped closed.

"G'night."

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**This isn't the end! Nobody panic! Later Phans.**


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